Crabtree Estate Tempranillo 2023

Within the greater Clare Valley appellation, Watervale ranks highly in Riesling matters, so this is a “wait there’s more” moment, going even beyond the region’s more traditional reds duo of Cabernet and Shiraz to this Spanish variety planted on the slopes above the Watervale hamlet in 1997, the first of its kind in the ground in the region. No longer “emerging” or “alternative” but its own fine self, offering a nod, as proprietor Jason Clare and winemaker Peter Burford suggest, to Rioja’s Crianza style. With that in mind, we see here a fleshy, peppery wine, light to medium bodied in style – note the low alcohol reading, a result of it being the first harvested variety on the estate in order to retain fruit acidity in the finished wine. It’s fresh, lively with crimson to black cherry like flavours and a subtle woodiness in the finish. Easy going and a neat companion to casual Mediterranean menus.