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Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2009 DOUBLE TAKE: Petaluma Clare Valley Hanlin Hill Riesling 2009 By Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front WALSH: Looks like it’s my turn to kick off this Double Take. No problem for me: I’m excellent at dribbling. I tasted this in a bracket of five 2009 Clare Valley Rieslings over not one, but two days and I have a feeling that the old boy and I will be pretty closely aligned on this one. It’s a good Petaluma and I like it. It’s of a clean and pure nature with pretty things like orange blossom and aniseed sprayed ’round its lemon head. Not a bitey acidic wine, rather softer, but still tight. It has very good length and a most attractive chalkiness lending textural interest. I think it will age well over the medium term and improve slightly in the shorter one. 92+ from me, although 93 would be fine too. Gary Walsh MATTINSON:I had this around the 94 mark at first though I dropped it back a touch later. It’s like drinking pure lime juice, though that chalkiness through the finish helps to soften it. Seriously crisp and intense. No idea really how it will age, though I would (even given the quality) be drinking this over the next couple of years. The more you drink it the more simple it seems - not unusual for a young riesling of course, but if it’s going to age well I’d like it to be more piercing. Gorgeous wine to drink young though - for definite. Rated : 92+/93 Points Campbell Mattinson Rated : 92+/93 Points - Alcohol : 12.5% - Price : $30 - Closure : Screwcap - Drink : 2010 - 2018 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