The lead up to the 2025 was notable due to 2024 being the driest year on record as well as the third warmest year since recordkeeping began in 1838. What began as an exercise in carefully planned irrigation turned into doubt as a catastrophic frost annihilated the early spring growth across much of the Clare and Eden Valleys. While initially devastating, the timing of this frost event played into our favor as we watched the vines bounce back with secondary budburst. The second crop was significantly smaller than the primary, but with limited water supply and no rain in sight, this allowed our growers to curate dense, healthy canopies with remarkable quality fruit from minimal water input. For a year that is marked by hot and dry conditions, the intensity of flavor and electric acidity in the 2025 Rieslings is both remarkable and incredibly exciting.

Grapes were machine harvested at night and the fruit was in the winery by morning – the preferred method for Riesling. Instead of pressing, John uses a spin and drain method to extract the free run juice thus ensuring the berries are handled very gently to maintain the pristine purity of the juice. The juice is then settled for 5 days with solids falling to the bottom of the tank. The clear juice was racked and fermented at around 55 degrees for 10-12 days until reaching the desired sugar level at which point the wine was chilled and sulphured to stop the ferment. The Riesling was then heat and cold stabilized to remove all haze and crystals before being filtered and bottled in June.