2024 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling

Highly Rated
German-inspired Riesling from the Clare Valley, made in a classic Kabinett style.
4.0
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars
4 Reviews

Price:
Sale price$34.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

One of the great things about Riesling is that you can mold it into any form you like. Want it dry? Ferment it dry. Want it sweet? You can have that, too...

John Hughes loves Riesling in all its forms and guises.

The No. 8 from Rieslingfreak is modelled off the German Kabinett style of Riesling. It's picked early to preserve the searing natural acid of young Clare Valley fruit, then has the ferment arrested just as John decrees that the balance of sugar and acid is right where he wants it.

It's sweet yet refreshing all at once. This is one of the top of the pile sweeter-styled Riesling in the country.

96 points
"It's an enchantingly pure wine, its finely honed tension making it appear drier than you'd expect, with a fine, minerally cadence, an ache of umami and a drawn-out lime sorbet finish. Superb drinking."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points
"What a journey this wine takes you on...The vineyard shines here with sweetness perfectly matched to suit the character of the fruit. It’s JUST right and a demonstration as to why you need to be a freak of all things Riesling to produce wine this good. Cellar for another 20 years if you have the patience of a saint. Serve with luscious pork belly."
- Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)

Rieslingfreak No.8 is harvested from the Polish Hill River vineyard. Schatzkammer is a German word meaning ‘ Treasure Chamber’. This is where German Winemakers store their treasured wines. The No.8 is made in a German Kabinett style. Due to European labelling laws, we are not legally allowed to use the word ‘Kabinett’ on wine labels. Therefore, I have used the work Schatzkammer, a play on the word Kabinett, and it is my treasured wine!

Harvested early in the season, the wine is low in alcohol. Made in a sweet Kabinett style, the wine also retains great amounts of acid, balancing out the sweetness and fruit perfectly.


Region: Clare Valley, SA
Blend: Riesling (100%)
Bottle Size: 750ml

96 points - "An unctuous Polish Hill River-born riesling from the Jaeschke family vineyard that sports 32 g/L of RS in an Aussie Kabinett style. Super pale with a green flash and pure and expressive fruit tones of lime, grapefruit, custard apple, feijoa and pomelo with underlying hints of orange blossom, frangipani, riverstone and some vaguely earthy mycelial undertones. It's an enchantingly pure wine, its finely honed tension making it appear drier than you'd expect, with a fine, minerally cadence, an ache of umami and a drawn-out lime sorbet finish. Superb drinking." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "What a journey this wine takes you on. At first glance you’ll find Buddha’s hand citrus, citron and grapefruit. A touch of magnolia and sage leaf. There is an earthy oyster mushroom and sandstone quality. Then BAM Smack your lips and call me betty. A waterfall of dill, pickled radish and guava. The vineyard shines here with sweetness perfectly matched to suit the character of the fruit. It’s JUST right and a demonstration as to why you need to be a freak of all things Riesling to produce wine this good. Cellar for another 20 years if you have the patience of a saint. Serve with luscious pork belly." - Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)

96 points - "Abundant natural acidity in grapes from the 2024 vintage serves the Schatzkammer Riesling style perfectly. This wine follows the German Kabinett model, with grapes picked early and alcohol kept low, although the flavour intensity is ramped up high, thanks to careful development of residual sugar to balance the high acid profile. The resulting sweet aromas of tropical fruits – led by custard apple and passionfruit – sprinkled with nutmeg, carries through to a luscious palate that is balanced by firm acid and bracing minerality. An even-tempered model that celebrates rich Riesling texture." - David Sly (Decanter)

Customer Reviews

4.0
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 4 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 2 Total 4 star reviews: 1 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 1 Total 1 star reviews: 0
4 reviews
  • EB
    Estelle B.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Beginner
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Beginner
    2023 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
    Reviewing
    2023 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
    Rated 2 out of 5 stars
    Not quite the same

    The 2023 vintage was not the same as our first bottle which was earlier . Definitely lacked the fruity sweetness and had a slightly acidic after burn to the palate . Pity, it’s not aka ways a good thing to sell something under the same name “ No 8 …..” and it clearly tastes like 8a . I bought 6 bottles and sadly not reminiscent of my first 2019 bottle

  • NC
    Nigel C.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    2022 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
    Reviewing
    2022 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Yet another amazing Riesling from Rieslingfreak

    Loved this wine and so did my friends.

  • DW
    Derek W.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Beginner
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Beginner
    2022 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
    Reviewing
    2022 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    2022 Drop

    Nice drop -- glad to see Riesling in Australia!

Reviews LoadedReviews Added

Rieslingfreak

Rieslingfreak founder & winemaker John Hughes is quite simply making the most comprehensive, high-quality and remarkably priced range of Rieslings in the country.

Growing up in the family Riesling vineyard in Clare Valley, which John still farms today, Riesling simply runs through this man's blood. John, with the help of his talented winemaking wife Belinda, make only Riesling - not a bottle of any other variety - and they've honed their craft to a level unmatched in Australia.

They are two of the nicest people you're likely to meet, so wholeheartedly committed to their vision and craft, and we are proud to have worked so closely with them for so many years. These wines rank amongst the very best value to be found anywhere in Australia, and we give them our fullest recommendation. Enjoy!

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message