2017 Mesh Museum Classic Release Riesling, Eden Valley

It seems to happen less often these days, but I salute the producers that hold back wines for these 'classic releases', thereby giving wine lovers a chance to enjoy well-cellared wines coming into their drinking sweet spot. We wine hacks constantly harp on about riesling being undervalued, but when you try a wine like this you'll get it. Lime, green apple and grapefruit with underlying soft spice, wildflowers, stone and dried hay. Calm yet still with mineral focus, clarity and velocity, stunning length of flavour and toasty, limey complexity. Very nice indeed.

95 points Special Value Dave Brookes winecompanion.com.au

Mesh Museum Classic Release Riesling from Eden Valley is a beautifully aged expression of one of Australia’s most celebrated cool-climate Rieslings. Crafted as a collaboration between two of the country’s finest Riesling producers — Jeffrey Grosset of Clare Valley and Robert Hill-Smith of Yalumba in the Eden Valley — this wine is released after a number of years in bottle to showcase how top-quality Eden Valley Riesling evolves with time. It combines purity and tension with texture and layered complexity.

The fruit is sourced from a single, high-altitude site in the Eden Valley, where ancient soils and cool conditions produce Riesling with pristine citrus, floral aromatics and vivid acidity. The wine is fermented in stainless steel with a focus on precision and clarity, then aged under ideal conditions in bottle for up to 10 years before release as a museum classic.

In the glass, it shows pale gold hues and opens with aromas of lime cordial, white blossom, beeswax, toast and flint. The palate is dry and finely detailed, with layered flavours of preserved lemon, jasmine tea, wet slate and almond. There’s a waxy richness from age, yet the acidity remains electric, keeping the wine fresh and focused through a long, stony finish.

Food pairing: perfect with freshly shucked oysters, Thai-style grilled prawns, roast pork with apple, or lemon and herb spatchcock. Also excellent with aged hard cheeses or creamy goat’s cheese.

Cellar potential: already matured and drinking beautifully, but will continue to evolve for another 5 to 10 years, gaining savoury, honeyed complexity.