Wines
2022 RIKARD Black Label Riesling
Our 2022 Black Label Riesling brings together the very best parcels of Riesling sourced in 2022 and is inspired by the great Rieslings of Europe. We have made use of the wonderful versatility and variation in flavour spectrum gained by ripening Riesling beyond the traditional Australian citrus style and combined that with more traditional winemaking: long, slow, wild yeast ferments, minimal intervention, selective lees-stirring, a proportion of skin contact and extended ageing in large oak vessels.
What we’ve produced is a Riesling that is textural and structural, complex and long. Fruits that are more in the apricot and quince spectrum, but still with the beautiful hallmark acidity and freshness that comes with the variety. Acidity that is highlighted further by being grown at elevated growing sites and from the cool 2022 season. A wine of evolving complexity that will pair beautifully with food and will age gracefully with time.
Colour – Pale yellow with a hint of green
Nose – Fruit characters of apricot, quince, with dried lemon and a hint of fresh cut hay. There’s an essence of creamed honey, some Italian herbs and white pepper. A complex and ever-evolving nose.
Palate – The palate is dry and intense, with several layers rising and receding over time. Preserved lemon with saline minerality. Melon and green apricot. A hint of Turkish delight. There’s a nuttiness and incredible texture to this wine as it swirls and changes in your mouth. It’s savoury and complex, and held together with persistent acidity and drive.
936 in stock
Description
2022 was a fabulous year for Riesling. The cool years always are. With such a long, slow, protracted growing season and ripening period, the fruit has extra time to accumulate incredible depth of flavour and aroma profile. This, combined with the benefit of the high natural acidity that comes with the variety – especially in cold, high-altitude sites such as ours – results in wines which look gorgeous in their youth but will age beautifully also.
We were very lucky to be able to source fruit from five individual vineyards in 2022. Each of these sites are among the coolest in Orange and contain multiple different clones of Riesling. For us, this brings added complexity and blending options to the winemaking table. To add to this clonal complexity, we also picked each vineyard at varying physiological ripeness levels, to give us parcels of wine with a whole array of different flavour spectrums – and yet more complexity. Add to that some variation in how they were treated in the winery, and you have multiple options and scope with which to “build” your wine and play around with style.
We decided on two styles in 2022.
Our Black Label Riesling brings together the very best parcels of Riesling sourced in 2022 and is inspired by the great Rieslings of Europe. We have made use of the wonderful versatility and variation in flavour spectrum gained by ripening Riesling beyond the traditional Australian citrus style and combined that with more traditional winemaking: long, slow, wild yeast ferments, minimal intervention, selective lees-stirring, a proportion of skin contact and extended ageing in large oak vessels.
What we’ve produced is a Riesling that is textural and structural, complex and long. Fruits that are more in the apricot and quince spectrum, but still with the beautiful hallmark acidity and freshness that comes with the variety. Acidity that is highlighted further by being grown at elevated growing sites and from the cool 2022 season. A wine of evolving complexity that will pair beautifully with food and will age gracefully with time.
Reviews
“Apple blossom, grapefruit zest, honeysuckle and nashi pear. Lemongrass and chervil. There is an almost sieve-like texture across the palate and an element of orange sherbet. Toasted Marcona almonds linger and the wine is succulent and dry. Plenty of energy and electricity.”
95 points
Shanteh Wale – Halliday Wine Companion 2023
