- One of Bellarmine’s flagship Riesling varieties, our Select Riesling has won numerous awards and consistently high points over the years.
- A delicious, sweet wine showing apricots, orange blossom and a matching lively acidity ensuring a long cellaring potential.
- Enjoy chilled with spicy food such as wasabi dabbed sushi, or with desserts such as apple strudel and cream.
91 points, Halliday Wine Companion "Orange blossom, lime flesh, white currants and spice form the beginning, middle and end of this lovely story. Drink it on a hot day or with spicy food - or both. Gorgeous."
WINE NOTES
Region: Pemberton, Western Australia
Drink Until: 2041
Variety: Riesling
Suggested Food Pairing: Spicy Asian style dishes; Luscious desserts such as panna cotta.
Oak: Nil
Colour: Pale straw
Nose: Lifted orange blossom, orange peel and spice.
Palate: Citrus notes with sweet honeyed characters and chalky acid leading to a sweet balanced finish. Style: Elegant aromatic sweet white wine.
BACKGROUND: The grapes are sourced exclusively from the Bellarmine vineyard in the high quality cool climate region of Pemberton in South-Western Australia. The vineyard is at an altitude of 220 metres above sea level. Planted in 2000 by hand, the vines are trained to Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) to give optimum exposure of the fruit to sunshine during the ripening season which occurs from December to March. The soils are red gravel laterite soils which provide excellent drainage and give warmth to the vines' root systems at night from the sunshine the red gravel has absorbed during the daylight hours. This results in the Riesling being ready for harvest in late February/ early March before too much rain comes in as Autumn progresses. Bellarmine wines famously makes three different styles of Riesling, each with its own story and appeal. One of very few vineyards in Pemberton to grow Riesling, which was planted by German owners, Dr Willi and his wife Gudrun Schumacher in 2000.
HARVESTED: 4th March 2021
WINEMAKING Harvested in the cool of the night at optimum flavour levels as determined by the wine- maker regularly tasting the grapes, the fruit is treated very delicately to preserve the pristine citrus and flo- ral aromas and flavours. This wine is made from some 'free run' juice taken from the initial crushing of the grapes before any pressing of the skins occurs and blended with a small amount of pressings to add texture and character to this sweet wine. The juice is cold settled for 48 hours then the clear juice is racked to a new tank away from the solids ("lees") and is innoculated with a yeast to ensure a steady fermentation oc- curs and to optimise the natural characters present in the fruit. The fermentation is carefully temperature controlled to achieve a gradual drop in sugar levels and to retain the maximum aromas possible. Fermentation and storage occur in stainless steel tank and no oak is used as the aim is to encourage the wine to develop its own pristine flavours. Once the wine reaches the perfect balance of approximately 63-70g/L of residual sugar, the fermentation is chilled suddenly to kill the yeast and retain the natural sugar in the wine, leaving the alcohol at a relatively low level.
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