Mr. Riggs Watervale Riesling 2020
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Parker
Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Watervale Riesling offers classic Clare Valley notes of chalk dust, apple blossom and lime zest, plus a riper hint of peach. It's medium-bodied and tightly focused on the palate, finding a direct, linear route into a long, crisp, mouthwatering finish. Drink it in the next year or two, or hold it for another six or seven years if you prefer aged Riesling.
Mr. Riggs Wine Co. was founded in 2001 as a collaboration between Ben Riggs (with decades of vintages at McLaren Vale’s Wirra Wirra under his belt) and his mentor Tony Parkinson.
Mr. Riggs winemaking philosophy is to make unpretentious wines that express the essence of the vineyard and the region’s terroir in a style that Ben enjoys drinking; big, rich and complex, but also with finesse, texture and elegance, the latter not necessarily being traits Ben possesses.
Mr. Riggs wines are stamped with Ben’s considerable European experience, as well as his unique vision for wines produced on his hallowed South Australian stomping ground.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
The Clare Valley is actually a series of narrow north to south valleys, each with a different soil type and slightly different weather patterns along their stretch. In the southern heartland between Watervale and Auburn, there is mainly a crumbled, red clay loam soil called terra rossa and cool breezes come in from Gulf St. Vincent. A few miles north, in Polish Hill, is soft, red loam over clay; westerlies blowing in from the Spencer Gulf influece this area's climate.
The differences in soil, elevation, degree of slope and weather enable the region to produce some of Australia’s finest, aromatic, spicy and lime-pithy Rieslings, as well as excellent Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec with ripe plummy fruit, good acid and big structure.
Clare Valley is an isolated farming country with a continental climate known for its warm and sunny days, followed by cool nights—perfect for wine grapes’ development of sugar and phenolic ripeness in conjunction with notable acidity levels.