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.

Mid straw colour. The aroma is of apricot and honeydew melon fruit aromas with barrel derived characters of blanched almond and crème brûlée. The palate is clean and lightly textured, a core of honey and melon fruit, fresh acidity and fine linear oak tannins extending the palate.

Josef Chromy is the ultimate example of the fact that its never too late to fulfil your dreams, having launched his wine label at the age of 76. Hes had great success since, as youll discover with this Riesling. In the glass: Bright pale lemon. On the nose: Tightly wound and delicate. On the palate: Pristine, dry and crisp with a lemon and lime fruit core. Really refined and precise, it has a wonderful quinine-like texture and very tight acidity that will ensure success in the cellar.

Rieslingfreak is indeed ‘a freak’, and not simply because of its rarity as an Australian winemaker focused on a single variety. A collection of wines, each given its own number to represent a different style, region or vineyard. The home of the No.14 is a single vineyard at Watervale in the Clare Valley, a region renowned for producing Riesling of richness and elegance. This wine may be enjoyed in its youth, but will also reward long-term cellaring.

Crisp lively drinking from this respected producer with the grassy Sauvignon Blanc character balancing the fuller Semillon flavours. Bottled under screwcap to retain freshness.

The roots of Sevenhill Cellars go all the way back to the 16th century when a young Spanish courtier called Inigo swapped a life of violence for one dedicated to helping others and co-founded the religious order we know today as the Jesuits. He mistakenly thought the Latin translation of his name was Ignatius and hundreds of years later, the more well-known St Ignatius has stuck fast. Fast forward to Adelaide in 1848, where Jesuit priests struck out North with a group of over 100 German and Silesian migrants. Amid the beautiful rolling hills of the Clare Valley is where they decided to settle and, after purchasing 100 acres of land in 1849, the young priest named the property Sevenhill in honour of the seven hills of Rome. This Riesling enjoys a bright aroma of lime, citrus, mineral and orange blossom. The palate is finely structured with gentle citrus and nectarine fruit flavours, crisp acidity and a clean balanced finish.

Langtons is proud to be first to market with the inaugural vintage of this Riesling, a selection from a very special part of the famous Contours vineyard. When it comes to Eden Valley Riesling, no name is greater than the Langtons Classified Contours Riesling from Pewsey Vale. The Contours vineyard was first planted in 1841, but the distinctive site we know today -- with vines planted along the contours of an Eden Valley hillside rather than in straight rows -- dates from the 1960s. From 1961 in fact, and this new wine comes from a single block of the oldest vines, planted in that year on a north-facing slope. The Contours Riesling is released with five years of bottle age. This new wine -- although almost equally ageworthy -- is a more approachable style and therefore suitable for release (like most other Rieslings) in the year following vintage. For many (or most) the 1961 Block Riesling will be indistinguishable from The Contours. The value here is obvious.

This premium Riesling is fresh with crisp apple and zesty citrus aromas. With complexity of flavour, balanced by natural acidity and a dry finish.

This fine elegant Riesling has aromas of lime juice and honey blossom while the palate offers excellent fruit weight with minerally flavours that linger on the finish. Drinking beautifully and sure to age well.