2014 Jim Barry Spring Farm Block 114 Riesling, Clare Valley

Releases like this remind us that Clare Valley riesling has every right to ascend pricepoints, its precious and unique status in Australian wine largely undervalued for so long. A gift to us drinkers, but with wines such as this, from a single plot, nurtured with experience to bottle and held back for release, it is fair play to hit premium pricepoints – and worthy. This is complex and layered, fabulous in its balance of freshness and yet beautiful decay. The texture pushes the wine into medium weight, crackling with honeycomb and buttery toast, yet set among fresh lime, grapefruity tang and cloudy green apple juice characters. The perfume similar in this regard, maturity and vitality hand in hand. A masterclass in maturing Clare riesling.

96 points Mike Bennie winecompanion.com.au

Jim Barry Wines’ Spring Farm Block 114 Riesling is a single-vineyard release that highlights the Clare Valley’s ability to produce world-class, age-worthy Riesling with purity and precision. The Spring Farm vineyard sits just south of the Clare township, and Block 114 is a particularly prized site. Its red loam over clay soils and gentle slope provide excellent drainage, while retaining enough moisture to sustain the vines through the warm, dry summer. The Clare Valley’s continental climate — warm days balanced by cool nights — ensures slow, even ripening, preserving acidity while allowing intense flavour development.

Fruit from Block 114 is hand-picked at optimum ripeness and handled with great care to protect the delicate aromatics. Fermentation is carried out in temperature-controlled stainless steel to lock in freshness and preserve the variety’s hallmark citrus and floral characters. The wine is made without oak, letting the vineyard’s terroir and Riesling’s natural purity take centre stage.

In the glass, it shows a pale straw hue with green flashes. Aromas leap from the glass — fresh lime juice, lemon zest, white blossom, and subtle hints of jasmine and kaffir lime leaf. The palate is taut, vibrant, and intensely citrus-driven, with flavours of lime and pink grapefruit over a chalky mineral spine. Crisp, mouth-watering acidity drives a long, pristine finish, a hallmark of great Clare Riesling.

It’s a natural partner for Coffin Bay oysters, kingfish ceviche, salt and pepper squid, or fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. While exhilarating in its youth, it has the structure to cellar for 10–15 years, evolving into a wine of honeyed, toasty complexity while maintaining its core of citrus freshness.