Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2011
THE WINE FRONT TRIPLE TAKE: PETALUMA HANLIN HILL RIESLING 2010
Mike Bennie: Hands up who remembers the super-dooper 2002 and 2003 Petaluma Rizzas? Yeah. Me too. Hell, they even look great today. The thing is with superb vintages, associated glory and halcyon days is that backing it up is tough. Just ask the creaking giants of rock ‘n’ roll who trundle themselves out for geriatric money grab tours. And I don’t mean Gary. So for a wine to show form vintage on vintage, following such highs, it’s difficult.
Reliable, friendly, predictable is the Hanlin Hill Riesling and though the style can vary, it’s usually in degrees. Until 2010. To me this is a markedly different wine to many in the past decade; it’s soft, supple and, sorry dudes, a little wishy washy. Notwithstanding this, it still is a fresh, easy drinking Riesling, I just harbour a lust for structural acidity, regardless of sweetness levels. If you’re a Riesling drinker and prefer lazer-like attack, perkiness and sizzling acidity then this wine won’t be for you. If you want to experiment with a lovely, benign Riesling that offers early drinking pleasure, delicacy and some soft, talcy nuances then you’ll like this. But I can’t help but feel it’s a shade of its past finesse. And with the price creeping up, the value proposition of what has been often a go-to Australian Riesling for me no longer looks as sound. 90 Points.
Walsh: I wrote nothing else in the draft but “The wine is fatter than Mike Bennie”, but on return I find it changed to “It’s nowhere near as good looking as Mike Bennie”. Funny that, but both of those statements are true. So it’s a bit of a ripe lemon and apple style Riesling with a touch of mineral oil fragrance. Sweet and round, but stylish in its own way. Soft balanced acidity, it won’t make your face look like you’ve been weaned on dill pickles, but does have just enough to get the job done and provide sufficient shape. Could do with a bit more kick down on the back palate too. All up it’s a ‘nice wine’, flavoursome and easy, though lacking any real Riesling thrills. Drink young, although it looked solid over a couple of days. About 90 points for me too, though I’ll add one just to be different. So 91 points.
Mattinson: Length is the issue. Searing acidity. Cut and thrust. But that aside, I’m at odds with the lads above. The mid-palate has fantastic intensity. Every time I put it in my mouth, that wonderful burst of apple, lime and lemon-like flavour bowled me over with its intense loveliness. To smell – it’s appealing, welcoming, nothing special but good enough. When you swallow – likewise. But that ball of intense flavour would make it well worth buying in my books – for drinking this summer – if it wasn’t for the turn-off factor of the price.
Rated : 90/91/92 Points
Tasted : Nov10
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $33
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2010 - 2016+
Petaluma's important Hanlin Hill vineyard on the western face of the Clare Hills is one of the highest vineyards in the region with an elevation of 500 metres. The soils are mostly red brown soils interspersed with gravelly shales. The fruit is crushed and allowed to cold settle in stainless steel before draining and light pressing into stainless steel fermenters. The juice – inoculated with Petaluma's own yeast strains – is cool fermented after which the wine is cold settled, racked and then bottled in July. Winemaker Brian Croser describes his Petaluma Riesling as a "dry late picked style". This is a quintessential Clare Valley Riesling with superb pure lime/lemon aromas, fruit sweetness and fresh cutting mineral acidity. Andrew Calliard MW
A 100 per cent estate-produced wine from Petaluma's Hanlins Hill Vineyard in the Clare Valley, one of the classic Australian Riesling regions. The wine is made with iron discipline and is a crystal-pure reflection of the interaction of climate, soil and variety. As the notes indicate, it ages with grace. James Halliday
