2023 Lethbridge Dr. Nadeson Riesling Biodynamic, Henty

Matured in older foudre. A very bright green gold. A slightly different but superb rendition of Henty Riesling. A penetrating nose with its core of citrus fruits, floral notes and crushed rock. There's a hint of sweetness, but this is essentially a dry wine, with mouth-tingling and invigorating acidity ensuring it's balanced and fresh. I liked this. A lot.

97 points Special Value Philip Rich winecompanion.com.au

The Dr. Nadeson Riesling is Ray’s tongue-in-cheek homage to the great wines of Dr. Loosen in the Mosel. When it comes to Riesling, Ray draws inspiration from the benchmark wines of Germany, particularly the importance they place on texture, structure and balance. To this end, he sources all his Riesling from very cold, well-established sites in Victoria (particularly Henty) and leaves a lick of residual sugar for texture. 

Jack and Lois Doeven’s site in Drumborg (Henty) is well-known for the quality of its fruit. Planted in the 1980s in beautiful schist rock soils, it is very cool and delivers paltry yields of intensely flavoured fruit with bracingly high acidity. Ray has sourced grapes from here for 20+ years and currently takes the vineyard’s entire Riesling crop. The bunches are picked by hand and ferment in large oak before maturing on fine lees in smaller barrels. Ray leaves a touch of residual sugar to balance the naturally high acidity. 

The Lethbridge Rieslings are some of Australia's best examples of residual sugar styles, and Ray’s touch for balanced power is on full display here. It bolts from the glass with aromas of confit lemon, salt, herbs and stones and slides through the palate with mouthwatering energy, punchy structure and pure, delicious flavour. Pair this with some chilli crab, and thank us later!