2025 Atlas Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley

Great texture and vitality here from a standout vintage of the Clare. It feels remarkably fresh and opens with a mist of Granny Smith and Bickford's lime cordial scents, with white florals in the mix. Spring (the season) bottled, you could say. It's deeply varietal and regional, with flavour intensity dialled up, fruit purity, too. It's pithy, with grapefruit and fingerlime, and is reminiscent of a stream awash a riverbank, generous but focused. Excellent.

94 points (Special Value) Katrina Butler for Halliday Wine Companion, July 2026

Atlas Wines is the project of winemaker Adam Barton, a Clare Valley local who cut his teeth at iconic estates including Grosset before launching Atlas to focus on site driven, precise expressions of Riesling. Watervale sits at the heart of Clare Valley’s Riesling story, its red loam over limestone soils and slightly warmer conditions giving wines of generosity balanced by natural acidity. Barton’s philosophy is purity and transparency, allowing vineyard and season to shape the wine without embellishment.

Fruit is harvested early to capture freshness and fine phenolics. Whole bunch pressing protects delicacy, and fermentation in stainless steel preserves aromatic lift and clarity. There is no oak influence, keeping the focus firmly on fruit and mineral line. The aim is a dry Riesling with energy, length and ageing potential.

Pale straw with green flashes, the aromas open with lime zest, lemon blossom and green apple layered with hints of jasmine and crushed stone. The palate is light bodied yet intense, with citrus fruit carried by bright, mouthwatering acidity. Flavours of lime and grapefruit flow into a long, clean finish with a subtle chalky edge.

It pairs beautifully with oysters, sashimi, spicy Asian dishes and fresh salads. Thrilling in its youth for vibrancy and lift, it will cellar confidently for fifteen years or more, developing classic Clare notes of toast and honey.