Pikes Merle Riesling 2021

Absolutely fabulous to be able to source wines with age under the belt, even though you’d never know it here, from such a fantastic vintage. This is simply elite. From the Polish Hill River sub-region, 100% free run juice and the wine spent four months on lees after fermentation. If you think I’m getting carried away, the wine won six trophies at the recent Clare Valley Wine Show, including Best Wine of Show. If I may digress briefly, a few years ago judging in Scandinavia, where they do things very differently including mixing up the wines so you might be comparing apples and oranges, so to speak, one of the first wines we looked at jumped out of the glass to me as a stunning Clare Valley Riesling. I’d like to say I picked it as the Pikes Merle but I would be lying. I gave the wine 97. The procedure at the show is to advise us of the name of the wine after we have judged it, and we then call out our scores. Great Australian Riesling is not as appreciated overseas as it should be. When I called 97, the organiser was so stunned he insisted on seeing my notes to make sure I wasn’t just being an Aussie flag waiver and giving the wine more than I had originally. These wines are world class and I have no doubt that the world will finally cotton on – let’s just hope it is not too soon. Still a very pale lemon hue with flecks of green, the wine is still so youthful. Quite amazing. This is simply superb. Coming from a great vintage doesn’t hurt, but even in the Clare Valley, there are few people crafting Riesling with quite the skill that is apparent here. We have notes of limes, lemon curd, glacéd grapefruit, jasmine and river pebbles. There is seemingly never-ending length, while it remains immaculately balanced throughout. A fine line of acidity, laser-like, is evident throughout. Enjoy this over the next twenty-five to thirty years, if you have the patience. Wow!

Ken Gargett

Contributor at Winepilot

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Wine writer and critic