Col McBryde has been coveting the fruit from the Smith family’s vineyard on Polish Hill River’s Rucioch Road for many years. In 2020 he finally got his hands on the goods. This mature vineyard, rooted in grey-brown loam on shale and sandy limestone, was one of the Clare’s first certified organic vineyards. Importantly for Col, it is also dry-farmed, so does not drain resources from the Murray River. This is a vineyard that has supplied some of the most famous names of Clare Valley Riesling.
The fruit was de-stemmed and crushed before pressing, then settled, racked and fermented to dryness in tank. Col notes that the Rucioch grapes carry a greater depth of flavour and more pulp than the more linear juice off the Polish Hill River Estate (the source of Adelina’s established PHR Riesling). And he’s not wrong! This is just gorgeous—superb lime zest and sherbet aromatics lead to a fleshy yet juicy, sappy and driven palate with fabulous depth and loads of character and length. A super bargain.