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Wine Description
The Story
Steingarten Riesling is regarded as one of the benchmark examples of fine Australian Riesling made in a dry style, and is the highest quality Riesling made under the Jacob’s Creek label.
The wine was originally vintaged in 1967 and its name means “Stone Garden” in German. It is named after the famous Steingarten vineyard that was first planted by Colin Gramp in 1962 on a steep rocky site in Eden Valley, from which the grapes were originally sourced.
Today the grapes are harvested from selected older Riesling blocks within Eden Valley including Steingarten Vineyard. These prized Riesling vineyards are of Easterly aspect, so are protected from the afternoon sun by the surrounding hills and ranges. The vines survive in predominately shallow soils over fractured shale or schist rock, which drives the classic mineral character of this wine. Winemaking focus is on retaining purity of the fruit. Grapes are harvested at night (or hand-picked in the early morning in the case of the Steingarten Vineyard) followed by gentle pressing and careful temperature controlled fermentation, with early bottling under screw-cap to best preserve freshness.
Steingarten Riesling displays classic cool climate Riesling characters, revealing intense lime, grapefruit and rose petal notes, which are harmoniously entwined with a ‘dry’ flinty mineral structure that adds persistence and length, providing excellent potential to develop further with careful cellaring for twenty or more years. Steingarten Riesling was awarded the Barossa Trust Mark since 2014 which guarantees its top quality and genuine Barossa origin.
Flavour profile: Delicate fresh blossom aromas teamed with juicy lemon flavours. Finely balanced, showing juicy lemon and lime flavours, supported by elegant mineral acidity.
Complements: Oysters with mirin dressing or seared scallops with mediterranean vegetables tossed with lemon dressing.
Wine Information
Vintage Conditions:
A very cool and wet winter preceded the 2012 growing season with above average rainfall being observed throughout Eden Valley. Soil moisture profiles were at an optimum level which supported the early development of healthy vine physiology following budburst. Cool to mild conditions prevailed during spring which set the potential for high quality fruit from moderate grape yields. The start of 2012 saw dry warm to hot weather conditions which necessitated the requirement of supplementary irrigation to ensure the Riesling grape quality was maintained at the highest possible level. The fruit was harvested during early to mid March at optimum flavour and ripeness balance, thus ensuring the fresh and vibrant flavours were preserved in the resultant wine. The 2012 Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling reveals characteristics of an outstanding vintage year, highlighted by pristine fruit aroma, flavour of scented white floral gardenia and lemon blossom. This is combined with a sweet lime fruit intensity, which is supported through the palate with a crisp mineral acidity that typifies the varietal fruit profile of a classic cool climate Riesling.
Vintage 2012
Lower-than-average yields in Australia, as across much of Europe. This was blamed on high winds, drought and low fruitfulness resulting from the poor 2011 vintage. Quality, however, was much better than in the exceptionally damp 2011, with South Australia avoiding some of the weather extremes experienced by other states. Strong varietal typicality is a commonly cited feature of the 2012 crop.
