LEASINGHAM Classic Clare Cellar Release Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley

For John Hughes, the attraction to Riesling is all encompassing. Growing up on a small vineyard in the Clare Valley, and going on to work with some of the brightest Riesling makers in the country before launching his own venture, John is never far away from his beloved grape. John makes classic Australian styles from carefully selected vineyards with an emphasis on purity and site reflection, as well as German-inspired expressions that balance acidity and sugar with singular precision.

Colour - Golden straw with Light Green Tones. Bouquet & Palate - This wine commenced with a restrained floral perfumed nose of lemon blossom aromas. It has now started to emerge from its initial straight jacketed steely tightness, opening up with glorious ripe pear and lemon flavours with hints of ripe rock melon that linger on the palate with a long, dry & refreshing finish.

Cat Amongst the Pigeons, our story is a recipe of vision, courage and the unordinary. A wine range that exists to do things differently, walking a few steps ahead and unafraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way. This Riesling offers citrus aromas followed by lemon and lime flavours with a crisp refreshing palate.

The fruit is from a Kirrihill owned vineyard in Watervale called “Slate Creek”, planted in the 1970’s. As you guessed, the vines are sitting on slate, which gives incredible results, the fruit has great concentration of flavour and minerality on the palate. The 2025 season was excellent for Riesling, we are super happy with how the wines are shaping up. The vines maintained very healthy canopies throughout the dry summer, and the vineyard team kept up with consistent and generous irrigation to meet the perfect ripening conditions. Picking at cool temperatures and quick transportation will avoid picking up colour, oxidation, maceration and therefore loss of quality, flavour and acidity.