Smeaton Estate Sienna Riesling 2017

From a noted cooler and wetter year in the Adelaide Hills, this museum-style release Riesling has proved that not all was lost, as do many more wines from so-called challenging vintages. Time is a traveller. From the Smeaton family’s Martin Hill vineyard in the northern Hills Forreston district, sitting at 440m altitude, the wine has evolved gently, green-gold in the glass without losing its gloss, aromas moving now into a deeper lime cordial, Makrut lime leaf, lime marmalade zone. Everything coalesces comfortably in the palate with an exotic spice element for extra pleasure, the mouthfeel fine and chalk-dusty with underlying acidity still pulsating in the finish. Renowned Riesling craftsman Con Moshos, formerly of Petaluma and now Tapanappa, has made a long-lasting winner here.