The fruit for this wine was sourced from the famous Watervale region off the Castine family Golf House vineyard. A classic dry style of Riesling with provocative lime, lemon and floral aromas. The tantalising citrus flavours on the palate harmonise well with the refreshing acidity, finishing with good length of flavour.

RIPOSTE BY TIM KNAPPSTEIN The Scimitar Riesling, Clare Valley

The development of this wine was an integral part of a winemakers 9-year, but ultimately unsuccessful, battle with bowel cancer. The first wine under this label was a Riesling and to this day, part of the proceeds from the sale of each bottle to fund his sons education.

Chris Hatcher of 'Hatch Wines' has been a winemaker for almost 50 years including more than 35 years at Wolf Blass, 27 as Chief Winemaker. After many years of contemplating releasing his own wines, Hatch retired from TWE in June 2023 and then in October/November released my own label HATCH, his monicker for most of his life. Watervale, a subregion of Clare Valley is one of the Australia’s classic regions for Riesling. At 390-400metres above sea level the high altitude and cooling breezes from Gulf St Vincent gives a long ripening period that is essential for making high quality Riesling. The HATCH Watervale Riesling is an elegantly fragrant and perfumed Riesling with hints of lime zest and orange blossom. The palate has powerful fruit intensity and finesse with fine acidity that is delicious now but will reward with medium to long-term cellaring.