Rieslingfreak No 2 Polish Hill River 2020
The Polish Hill River Vineyard was acquired by Rob and Lyn Jaeschke in 2010 and is known locally as the Hill River Vineyard. With Max Schubert (of Penfold’s fame) planting the first vines on the property in 1981, the vineyard was destined for big things. Situated in Polish Hill River, approximately 3 miles south-east of the Clare township, the vineyard is planted on grey-brown loam, over sandy limestone, and shale rock. Planted at 460m above sea level, the average rainfall is 625mm. Rieslingfreak No.2 is a dry style of Riesling, showcasing many of the Polish Hill River region’s refinements. The limestone and shale rock soil profile is reflected in the wine with mineral and slate notes and underlying fresh citrus characters, predominantly lemon and grapefruit. Wines from this vineyard can be consumed upon release or cellared for many years.
The harvest decisions for the 2020 vintage were complicated. Summer was hot, all through December, followed by a very cool January. This was perfect for the ripening of the grapes, in terms of sugar accumulation, while maintaining higher acid levels in the fruit. Grapes were machine harvested at night and fruit was in the winery by morning – the
preferred method for Riesling. Instead of pressing his Riesling, John uses a spin and drain method, where they spin the press every 10 minutes, to extract the free run juice – this ensures that the berries are treated very softly, whilst maintaining the purity of the juice. The juice then settled for about 5 days. Once the juice was clear, and solids were settled at the bottom of the tank, the wine was racked and the juice was ready for fermentation. The wine was then fermented at around 55 degrees for 10-12 days, until it reached his desired sugar level, at which point the wine was chilled and sulfured, to stop the ferment. The Riesling was then hot and cold stabilized, to remove all haze and crystals, before being filtered and bottled. Time lapse from harvest to bottling is roughly 3 months. Wine was released soon thereafter, in June.
