2013 Best's Foudre Ferment Concongella Riesling, Great Western

The tale of our Foudre Ferment Riesling begins with the delayed reception of a 2500L French oak foudre crafted by Marc Grenier of Burgundy. It was installed in a central position in the winery and both Ben and Viv Thomson questioned its arrival, as there were already 'enough' large old casks in the winery.

Ben remembered he had approved its commission. Viv shook his head disapprovingly. The cask’s arrival coincided with the revelation of some beautiful honeyed juice that came from combining the Riesling of several different blocks. The foudre was put to use and filled with this juice, starting to warm slowly and ferment with wild yeasts. The first Riesling to be released from this process was the 2012 EVT 51 Riesling.

This resulting wine exhibited both the complexities of a barrel ferment and spontaneous fermentation without the overt oak flavour, due to the size of the foudre. In a blind tasting Viv picked the wine as his favourite of the vintage and was very surprised of its origin once revealed.

The Foudre Ferment Riesling is the successor of the well-received EVT 51. While the 2012 was the inaugural wine of this style from Best’s, the 2013 exhibits many of the same characteristics, but is just a little more restrained. Full flavoured with hints of oak, spice and honey. It is well balanced with a touch of sweetness and a crisp acidity. It will continue to improve over the next 10 years.