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    St. Andrews

    Riesling 2015

    Result Bronze 0

    Result Silver 0

    Result Gold 0

    Result Max 0

    Result Trophy 0

    Hedonistic and tightly focused, this exceptionally balanced wine displays lemon, lime and a seamless spine of natural acidity leading to a finish of extraordinary length.

    TEST Download full winemaker notes

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    Honours and awards
    Accolades

    Honours and awards

    • Wine Show
    • Award
    • Critics Challenge International Wine Competition 2021
    • Critics Platinum
    • Catavinum World Wine & Spirit Competition 2021
    • Great Gold
    • International Wine Guide Awards 2021
    • Great Gold
    • Sakura Japan Womens Wine Awards 2021
    • Double Gold
    • Tasters Guild Wine Lovers Competition 2021
    • Gold
    • Wine Showcase Magazine Riesling Varietal Tasting 2021
    • Gold
    • World Wine Championships Awards BTI 2021
    • Gold
    • Gilbert & Gaillard International Competition 2021
    • Gold
    • International Wine Contest Bucharest 2021
    • Gold
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    Wine details
    VITAL STATISTICS

    Wine details

    • At release, the wine is a very pale straw colour with a slight green tinge to the edge. It displays zesty lemon and lime aromas along with faint orange blossom and talc. This particular Clare Riesling is still tight and restrained with a linear focus to the palate and purity of fruit flavours. There are lashings of fresh lemon/lime juice characters up front and a slate-like minerality across the mid-palate. It is backed up by a persistent and refreshing lime acid finish.

    • The aim is to craft a wine of delicacy and finesse that will age well. To this end, the juice was extracted using gentle whole berry pressing to protect the delicate fruit flavours and prevent any extraction of course phenolic character. It is then chilled quickly to just under 10 degrees C. The entire process occurring within ~15 minutes of harvest to ensure the true varietal and regional characters are captured and retained. The juice was allowed to cold settle for 24 hrs before being racked off gross lees. A cool fermentation was carried out in stainless steel vessels, using a relatively neutral yeast strain to preserve varietal characteristics. The fermentation was completed to a natural level of dryness. Minimal fining and filtration was employed prior to bottling in September 2015.

    • The growing season in the lead up to vintage 2015 saw slightly higher than average amounts of rainfall , around 14% above the long term average. During the vine’s dormancy period over winter, the average temperatures were in line with the long term averages, although minimum temperatures were marginally higher. After 10mm of rainfall at the beginning of August 1st, only 6.6mm fell during the remainder of the month making it the driest ever August recorded at the estate. These conditions were conducive to frost and there were 14 events recorded. The first evidence of budburst appeared in the last week of August which is relatively normal. Rainfall for spring was well below average, with four minor and three major frost events recorded during this time; the last and most severe occurred in mid-October. Not only was the spring weather extremely dry, it was also warm and windy. These conditions led to higher evapotranspiration (water loss), and despite our significant irrigation effort during October and November, still had a detrimental impact on flowering with resultant bunch numbers down around 20 - 25% on average. December and January were relatively mild, with 55mm of rain falling during the second week of January. The timing of this rainfall was excellent, as veraison had not yet started, hence we found very little splitting. The moisture was a welcome relief after such a dry spring, with the white varieties on the estate responding well for both yield and quality.

    • Clare Valley

      • Acid: 9.15
      • Alc %: 12.9
      • PH: 2.95
      • Residual Sugar: 0.30

    • Under ideal conditions this wine should cellar well to 2035, possibly longer.

    Download full winemaker notes

    11

    Reviews
    EXPERT APPRAISALS

    Reviews

    • Huon Hooke,

      6 Jan 2016
      95/100
      Very light, bright straw yellow hue. Intense lime flower, lemon juice aroma, fresh and vibrant, restrained and delicate. The same could be said of the palate, which is tight and dry, clean and delicate with lovely softness and a seamless flow. Crisp, refreshing acidity and appetising finish. Lovely wine of great harmony. Delicious now and will age superbly.
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    • Isaac Baker, Wine Reviews: Taylors - Clare Valley

      9 Jan 2016
      91/100
      Pale straw color. Gobs of white peach, papaya and fresh squeezed limes on the nose, and some chalk, mineral and floral perfume. Precise on the palate, packed with a stony mineral presence, but a waxy texture and lively fruit give the wine serious depth. Papaya, kiwi, peaches, lime juice, pretty fruit topped with river rocks, chalk, minerals and quinine. Lots going on here, but this will surely improve in the cellar. A gorgeous Clare Valley Riesling.
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    • Ray Jordan, Staying Power

      10 Jan 2016
      95/100
      One of the finest rieslings produced in the CLare and Watervale region. This one from Clare sits right on the border with Watervale. It is so flinty tight and crisp with juicy, tense crunchiness. Has a lovely wet, pebbly character that dominates the palate. So long and precise, with many years of cellaring ahead of it.
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    • Robert Whitley,

      4 Jan 2016
      95/100
      It's too bad on some level that the St. Andrews single-vineyard Riesling from Taylors is so inviting now, for in another 10 to 15 years it will be positively astounding. That's the typical path for the finer dry Rieslings from Australia's Clare Valley and it's one St. Andrews is apt to follow. For the near term, however, St. Andrews shows notes of lime and stony minerals, with a firm texture that will become more oily and rounded with age. Even at this early juncture it's a stunning Riesling.
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    • Glen Frederiksen,

      9 Jan 2016
      94/100 Hedonistic Pleasure
      In the glass, the wine is a very pale straw color with glints of green. The aromatics burst from the glass, an enticing mixture of perfumed pine needle and sap, lemon oil, orange blossoms, and limestone minerality. With the first sip, a puckering acidity, citrus oil, and slatey mouthfeel play off the steely backbone that promises this wine will age effortlessly for another 15 years or more. This is a benchmark bottling, demonstrating the aromatic profile and age-worthy structure that has beguiled wine connoisseurs around the world.
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    • Wine Reviews

      8 Jan 2016
      5 stars
      A pure classic varietal. The nose is shy and not giving much away except hints of florals. The vibrant palate is quite drying and austere but delicious with a delicate phenolic grip. Needs time.
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    • John Saker, Top wines for summer days

      1 Jan 2017
      If you've heard about how good Aussie riesling can be and want to try something decent, here's your wine. It has weight (too often lacking in local riesling), intense citrus and fruitcake-like flavours, and an effortless flow. Dry in style.
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    • Joe Czerwinski, Advanced Buying Guide - Wine Enthusiast

      2 Jan 2017
      93/100 Highly Recommended
      This is a ripe Clare Valley Riesling, but it balances its peachy overtones with powerful citrus zest and hints of crushed stone. There’s a touch of roundness to the midpalate, then plenty of length on the finish.
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    • MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Reviews

      3 Jan 2017
      90/100 Outstanding
      A mouthwatering mix of papaya, lime and Meyer lemon flavors, intense, sleek and focused, with terrific clarity on the finish, accented by a whiff of honeysuckle.
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    • Josh Raynolds, Australia Brings the Brawn and the Beauty

      10 Jan 2017
      93/100
      Pale, green-tinged yellow. Penetrating citrus and pit fruit scents are complemented by hints of chalky minerals, pungent flowers and lemongrass. Juicy and deeply concentrated but nervy in the mouth, offering fresh peach, pear, Meyer lemon and honeysuckle flavors that show excellent focus and mineral drive. The mineral and peach notes repeat emphatically on the finish, which lingers with outstanding persistence and building florality.
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    • James Halliday,

      8 Jan 2017
      96 Points
      Has won three gold medals at even more questionable US competitions than those won by its Clare Valley sibling, including the 'World Wine Championship Awards '15'. A very elegant wine with diamond-cut varietal delineation, pure riesling fruit the centrepiece. Lovely now, better in a decade.
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