Frankland Estate SmithCullam Riesling 2023

If Isolation Ridge is a melt-in-your-mouth kind of Riesling, Smith Cullam is all racy, ceaseless energy in the glass. It offers quite the contrast, even though the fruit is also sourced from the Isolation Ridge vineyard. Speaks with an airy, floral aroma intensity, citrus and talc. Hunter Smith’s winemaking breaks the usual Aussie Riesling mould in its use of whole bunches and fermentation (40%) in seasoned 500L oak as well as in stainless steel, followed by nine months on lees. Delicate, lemony and spicy with a barley sugar-like sweet tingle on the middle palate. Texture is building and a distinctive flintiness combined with vibrant acidity completes one impressive Riesling. And, it might be added, it’s very much a young wine in building mode.