Karra Yerta Riesling 2005 (Flaxmans Valley, Eden, SA)
Screwcap, $20

As Marie from Karra Yerta suggests, a chilled bottle of Riesling is exactly the sort of drink to help maintain sanity during the heatwave gripping Southern Australia at present.

I actually like the heat myself (swimming is my favourite weekend pursuit) but after spending a 45.5C Boxing Day in Perth a year ago I well know how unenjoyable extreme heat is…

A very light yellow colour, this has a slightly subdued, lightly toast & honey nose that just covers the citrus fruit underneath it, with tendrils of celery and grapefruit juice poking through. It’s a embryonically developed nose that still lifts out of the glass with its purity.

After this quite softly spoken start, the palate is quite a step up, like accidentally standing on the tv remote and turning the volume to 11 – it just builds limey intensity in a big whoosh of powerful grapefruit & lime flavour. The finish is tight and quite grippy, with a lingering, slightly woody dryness that suggests a very long future ahead. Man is it dry.

So then, this is a fantastically structured, powerfully dry and limey Eden valley Riesling that has just entered its main developmental stage & is slightly stuck in no mans land. The stats add up for serious ageing potential – PH 2.89 & 8.63 g/ltr Acidity – & for my taste, the best is yet to come (over the next 20 years). 18++