Sleepy Giant

Riesling 2021 - Sleepy Giant
*95 points and Awarded Elite at the international Canberra Riesling Challenge!
 
Tasting notes: 
This dynamic Riesling has classic varietal characteristics of high acidity with fresh stone fruit. It is complex aromatically with notes of white peach/unripe nectarine with a stony citrus edge. The balance is stunning; lively, fresh mouthfeel with phenolic grip, making for a schisty drying minerality, leaving a vestigial pithy citrus sweetness to encourage another sip. The ripening period was long and cool so the acidity stayed high for a longer duration letting the grapes pick up more of a sense of place on the high elevation granitic Strathbogie vineyard.
 
Wine making description:
The grapes are grown in a carbon neutral, single vineyard at high elevation on the cool side of the Strathbogie Ranges in Upton Hill. These 21-year-old vines planted in granitic quartz soils are in their prime, receiving accolades and recommendations for cellaring in review of the 2020 produce. Grapes picked on March 10th, the juice of high acidity and a Baume of 11.4, this year the fruit called for a drier style of wine, and so the grapes were crushed and destemmed and left to macerate on skins for 10 hours. Macerations were then pressed with their stems added back in, 90% of the juice was settled, all of the juice was then racked into old French oak barriques (225L). The juice was barrel fermented on wild yeasts in a cool environment. The final assemblage was made with about 10g/L residual sugar, the wine was then transferred to tank, the ferment stopped, before filtering and bottling.
 
 
Serving & cellaring suggestions:
The 2021 Chateau2B Riesling compliments any seafood dish or Asian cuisine such as dumplings and aromatic curries. More of its’ fruit characteristics emerge with food. It is also a wonderful pairing with charcuterie, and as with all our wine has a special connection to washed rind cheeses reflecting the varietals underlying mineral characteristics influenced by slow cold climate growth. This Riesling is delicious savoured now and due to its high acidity will likely show excellent potential in aging for at least the medium term (1-3 years) which has typically encouraged fresh citrus flavours and a more rounded palate from historical vintages.