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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.
Vintage 2018
AUSTRALIA: Very promising quality with the most optimistic reviewers declaring 2018 great in every region and for every variety. The more cautious view is that early frosts reduced yields, but that consistent good weather throughout the second half of the growing season actually resulted in great potential.
Barossa 2018 vintage to savor
The 2018 Barossa vintage was completed at the end of April 2018, with growers and winemakers satisfied with a high quality vintage and good yields.
“The flavors and colors of the reds are wonderful, and the natural acids in the Eden Valley whites surprisingly high, with early varieties this year including Riesling, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet,” said Louisa Rose, head of winemaking at Yalumba.
The growing season is off to a good start, with winter 2017 precipitation about 10% above average. However, spring rainfall was only 78% of average in the Barossa Valley (BV) and 98% in the Eden Valley (EV), and December rainfall was only 57%. % of average in BV (88% in EV).
Drier soils, combined with warmer than average days in October and November (October 2ºC above average in VB (1.8ºC in EV) and November 1.1ºC above average in BV (1.6 ºC in EV), allowed the vine canopies to grow quickly, to flower well and to form a good number of clusters.
January and February were hot and dry, with very hot temperatures in February slowing the rate of ripening. January was slightly above average (1.4°C during the day but closer to average at night) and February was about average during the day, but with nighttime temperatures significantly warmer than average. average in the Barossa Valley (5.8°C warmer).
With summer rainfall at 50% of average, growers with access to water, soil moisture monitoring, good irrigation management and healthy soils experienced less stress – and subsequently delivered healthy fruit and consistent yields.
The Indian summer of March and early April was “the icing on the cake”, with average temperatures, without extremes, perfect for ending the vintage. The 28-30mm of rain on April 14-15 did not cause any major problems for picking – and was a welcome post-harvest watering for most Barossa growers.
Overall, in 2018, Barossa Valley crushed 56,970 tonnes*, down 22% from the 2017 vintage, but 9% from the five-year average. In 2018, Eden Valley crushed 11,593 tonnes*, down 3% compared to 2017.
The total Barossa crush of 68,563 tonnes* represented 9% of the total volume and 25% of the total crush value in South Australia.
Average prices for Barossa Valley varieties remained stable in 2018, with Shiraz at $2252 per tonne, down 1% from last year. At Eden Valley, the average price of Shiraz increased by 11% to $2636 per tonne and Cabernet Sauvignon increased by 15% to $2354.
*Wine Australia estimates the response rate for wine grape crush in South Africa to be 85%, so the actual total Barossa crush is estimated at between 75,000 and 80,000 tonnes.