2024 Vickery Watervale Riesling

One half of the country's most long-standing Riesling duo from the legend that is John Vickery.

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Description

With over 50 vintages under his belt, his legacy in shaping the Riesling story in Australia is already well-cemented. Alongside winemaker Keeda Zilm, the pair continue to quietly produce some of the most reliable, finely tuned Rieslings in the country - without the price tag to match.

The 2024 Watervale bottling is a blend of fruit from six trusted growers - some with vines planted as far back as the ‘70s. A cool, steady growing season meant longer hang time on the vine, giving the wine extra aromatic lift and flavour detail without sacrificing freshness. Keeda picked in a tight 10-day window to preserve that all-important brightness and balance.

It’s generous and aromatic, but never showy—apple blossom, hints of fennel and juicy citrus lead the way. The palate is packed with flavour and finishing zingy, zesty and long. Cellar it for a decade, or drink it young over a long lunch. Either way, this is Australian Riesling done right.

95 points
"Serious bargain at this price."
- Kim Brebach (BWU20)

94 points
"A wine which epitomises elegance and delicacy."
- Ken Gargett (Wine Pilot)

93 points
"One of those ‘pour me a large glass’ kind of wines, this is an absolute beauty."
- Steve Leszczynski (Qwine)

93 points
"Tautly stretched and mineral-laden, there is some great concentration of lime here and a super nervy, precise finish travelling bone-dry and refreshing."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

92 points
"As far as dry styles of riesling go this is about as accessible as they come..."
- Campbell Mattinson (Wine Front)

95 points - "This wine underscores the distinction, with loads of seductive fruit, great drinking already but has the balance to ensure more growth for a few years. 95 points. Serious bargain at this price." - Kim Brebach (BWU20)

94 points - "Even though the Master is no longer with us, great to see wines – Riesling, of course – which follow his technique and which are a genuine tribute to him. This is a blend from various vineyards in the Watervale sub-region, some of which were planted almost fifty years ago. Skin contact is avoided, but a degree of pressings is incorporated back into the final wine. 2024 is a cool, but very fine vintage in the Clare. Near transparent yellow, this is beautifully perfumed. A wine of finesse and fragrance. The Master’s hand at work. The aromas include jasmine, lemon, grapefruit, limes and a touch of chalk. A wine which epitomises elegance and delicacy. There is fine minerally acidity, balance and intensity, and a very long finish. Twelve to fifteen years." - Ken Gargett (Wine Pilot)

93 points - "Tasted alongside the Vickery Eden Valley Riesling, given the choice, I would run at this Vickery Watervale 2024. So pretty, so vibrant, shower me with its glory. Sourced from six vineyards and made in the Vickery style with extra hang time, gentle handling, cool ferments with pressings used in the final blend. Juicy lemons, crunchy green apples and green apple skin set the tone, there is even a hint of musk. Attractive field flowers add a gorgeous perfume as Bickfords lime cordial slides in underneath. A fine limestone minerality adds further appeal with a delicate talc texture seeing out a long and delicious finish. One of those ‘pour me a large glass’ kind of wines, this is an absolute beauty." - Steve Leszczynski (Qwine)

93 points - "Pale with a flash of green in the glass. Pristine aromas of freshly squeezed lime and green apple with hints of clover, citrus blossom, crushed stone, makrut lime and lemongrass. Tautly stretched and mineral-laden, there is some great concentration of lime here and a super nervy, precise finish travelling bone-dry and refreshing." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

92 points - "As far as dry styles of riesling go this is about as accessible as they come. It is because of the overt lime flavours – it’s almost like jellied lime – which in tandem with red apple, lemonade, grapefruit and (subtle) banana characters makes for an easy-to-like flavour profile. It is dry though, especially on the finish; it’s almost into river pebble territory. I can’t see any reason why this would fall over any time soon but even so, I’d drink this young. It is, I should add, quite delicious." - Campbell Mattinson (Wine Front)

Fruit for the 2024 Riesling is a sub-regional blend from the vineyards of our dedicated growers. The 2024 growing season was cool, with moderate rainfall, these conditions allowing the fruit to hang a little longer on the vine, as is the Vickery way, without climatic or disease pressure, but facilitating full varietal expression.

After walking the vineyards and tasting for fruit and flavour ripeness, Keeda decided that the first pick would be on March 16th with all fruit off the vines by March 25th – a very compact timeframe. This small window presented idyllic harvesting conditions with the cool, dry nights that Clare is famous for. Immediately after harvest, the fruit was taken to the winery at Watervale for pressing to avoid extended skin contact. The Vickery style utilises pressings material in the final blend to add flavour to the wine, with the press-cut happening a lot earlier than normal to retain flavour without bitter phenolics.

Price Bracket $30 or Less
Type White
Body Light Bodied
Variety Riesling
Country Australia
Region Clare Valley
Australian State SA
Reviewed By Wine Pilot
The Wine Front
QWine
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 94
95
92
93
Alcohol 12%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Cork

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