2024 Vanguardist Wines Le Marx Riesling

Searing, textural Riesling from the Clare Valley.

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Sale price$38.00
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Description

This takes Clare Valley Riesling in a different direction than most. Winemaker Michael Corbett sourced this fruit from his friend Ben Marx  from Ben's vineyard in Clare Valley.

Named with a nod to the vineyard's owner, Ben Marx (of Gertie fame - if that rings a bell), this wine celebrates the long-standing friendship between Marx and winemaker Michael Corbett. Their shared passion for oenology shines through in this single-site Riesling, which showcases the unique terroir and flora that thrive in the picturesque, terraced vineyard at 550 metres above sea level.

The 2024 vintage brought both challenges and rewards, leading to a Riesling that bursts with freshness, intensity and textural intriuge. Hand-picked in the cool morning hours, the grapes were foot-crushed and cold-soaked before fermenting naturally in a 900L egg-shaped vessel. This careful process, along with aging on lees and full malolactic fermentation, has imbued the wine with a unique shape and texture, this is not your average Clare Valley Riesling but it's a very good one.

It has a beautifully balanced profile of brown lime, grapefruit pith, and a steely, mineral acidity that is both refreshing and structured. The wine’s roundness and mouthfeel are enhanced by extended lees contact and 100% malo-lactic fermentation.

Its smashability factor is high, as well as the quality. It's a powerful, savoury, textural Riesling that is super drinking now or in a few years time.

94 points
"Quite some brine and seaweed here, and not specifically any fruity, maybe mixed citrus and green apple is closest, also some chamomile and mint. It’s saline and savoury, kind of nutty, has a gentle sort of manzanilla tang, quite some powdery chalky texture, and finishes long and, well, kind of electric, like ozone or a quick lick of a 9V battery (don’t mind me). It’s an excellent wine. Distinctive and different."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

94 points - "Quite some brine and seaweed here, and not specifically any fruity, maybe mixed citrus and green apple is closest, also some chamomile and mint. It’s saline and savoury, kind of nutty, has a gentle sort of manzanilla tang, quite some powdery chalky texture, and finishes long and, well, kind of electric, like ozone or a quick lick of a 9V battery (don’t mind me). It’s an excellent wine. Distinctive and different." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

INSPIRED BY THE FLORA & FAUNA THAT THRIVE IN THIS VINEYARD. THIS COLLECTION CELEBRATES TERROIR, ITS UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM & THE VIGNERON’S CRAFT.

SINGLE SITE REISLING, MARX VINEYARD, POLISH HILL, CLARE VALLEY

NAME: Named with a playful nod to the vineyard’s owner, Ben Marx, "LE MARX" pays tribute to the long-standing friendship between Ben and Michael, who studied Oenology together in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. With the Marx family still deciding on an official name for the vineyard, we took the liberty of creating our own.

VINEYARD: Located in a picturesque Clare Valley within the subregion of Polish Hill, the terraced vineyard (top of the property sitting at approx 550m above sea level) is home to vines re-planted in 1985 after Ash Wednesday swept through the Valley. Alluvial gravel with Terra Rossa over a marbled Polish Hill clay calcareous subsoil.

VINTAGE OVERVIEW: The 2024 vintage brought both challenges and rewards, resulting in wines with vibrant freshness and intense flavors. A dry winter and early spring led to advance budburst, followed by a wet period that replenished soil moisture before the dry summer and autumn. Riesling ripened early, showcasing classic varietal precision and restraint.

HARVEST & VINIFICATION:
Harvest Date: Hand-picked in the cool morning hours of February 26.
Crushing: Foot-crushed as whole bunches and held cold for 8 hours before pressing.
Fermentation: Roughly racked into a 900L egg-shaped vessel for natural fermentation at temperatures between 10-13°C.
Post-Fermentation: Transferred to a 600L egg with gross lees, where natural malolactic fermentation occurred during the winter months.
Aging: Left on lees for 6 months before being carefully racked and bottled with a minimal addition of sulphur. No fining or filtration was used.

TASTING NOTES:
BOTANIC wines showcase the refinement and complexity of fruit and a clear expression of terroir.
Profile & Structure: Brown lime, grapefruit pith, mineral acidity balanced with a touch of fine tannin. Roundness and mouthfeel coming from lees contact and 100% malo.
Aging: Gracefully for the next decade
Classification: Organic (not certified), Vegan Friendly, Minimal Sulphur, Natural ferments, No acid or other additions

Closure: AMORIM XPUR 44x24mm
FSO2 at bottling: 8ppm
TSO2: 22ppm
pH: 3.15, TA: 5.8g/L
Alcohol: 11.1%

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Sub Type Riesling | Textural
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Riesling
Country Australia
Region Clare Valley
Australian State SA
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Critic Score 94
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Cork

Vanguardist

Vanguardist is an up and coming producer from McLaren Vale started by three friends after many long nights in Hawkes Bay talking about their shared love of wine.

Their mission is to bring premium, authentic, small-batch wines to a market they see as crowded by "overly commercialised wines produced by corporates who take up all the elbow room."

They source very high-quality fruit from great vineyards across South Australia, looking to build wines with texture and vibrancy.

With experienced winemaker Michael Corbett at the helm, the future looks bright for this plucky challenger brand.

Winemaker Michael Corbett Vanguardist

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