2021 Vickery Reserve Watervale Castine Hay Shed Block Riesling, Clare Valley

Sourced from the Castine Hay Shed block in Watervale. I've made an entry in my 'little book of vices' that I must purchase a case of this when it is released (October 2024). There's two reasons. Firstly, John Vickery sadly passed away in 2023, and drinking this wine will remind me of my conversations with him over the years. Secondly, it's a cracking wine. Perhaps a little more intensity than the 2020 release, but still it's all limey precision with citrus blossom, apple sorbet and dried honeyed overtones. Long, dry and pure with minerality to burn.

95 points Special Value Dave Brookes winecompanion.com.au

It begins in the regions where John made his mark. Eden Valley in the Barossa and Watervale in the Clare Valley. It goes further into the sub-districts of these regions that John knew intimately, and partnering with growers who have the right vineyards in the right locations to produce the best possible fruit. Once fruit is picked at optimum ripeness, Phil and John employed the winemaking techniques that he refined and perfected over time, to craft Rieslings that carried his signature style and fastidious quality standards.

The Vickery label is in effect, a time capsule of John's wealth of winemaking knowledge. It showed his experience and winemaking techniques to be used without compromise, and then passed on to current and future generations of Riesling winemakers.