Whitehaven Noble Riesling 2022

Colour / Appearance: Pale Lemon.

Aroma / Bouquet: Lifted nose of dried mango and apple, with a hint of quince paste and ripe apricot notes.

Palate: Dried apricot, apple and honey, with an underlying core of citrus fruit that cuts through these rich flavours.

Cellaring: Delicious drunk now but will age gracefully over many years if cellared correctly.

Grape Growing: The fruit for this wine was sourced entirely from the Best Vineyard, located in Brancott Valley. The vines are pruned to two canes on a vertical shoot positioned trellis. Shoot thinning, leaf plucking, and trimming are used to achieve balanced vines, a healthy canopy and clean fruit. Minimal crop thinning was required in 2021 due to naturally low crops.

Climate: The 2022 growing season started with soil moisture at capacity, following an unusually wet winter which had seen flooding in parts of the region. Pleasingly, the region did not suffer any major frost events and despite conditions in November being a little wet, the warmth that went with it meant that flowering was not drawn out and resulted in good fruit set and the prospect of healthy yields. The remainder of the season was punctuated by cooler weather and rainfall events and we were vigilant around disease pressure as we entered the harvest period. Harvest was later this year and Brix accumulation was slow. We experienced another rain event in the final third of March, following which we thought it best to harvest as quickly as possible in order to retain pure fruit expression. This is where Whitehaven’s new receival building came to the fore, allowing greater throughput while maintaining the quality focus and attention to detail that Whitehaven prides itself on.