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NOTES
Chester was the first to pioneer this wine style in McLaren Vale. He experimented with this luscious style of dessert wine in his first year as winemaker here at d’Arenberg in 1984 after a degree in Oenology at Roseworthy Agricultural College and a stint traveling around some of the winemaking districts of France.
The Noble Riesling came about as a result of a series of viticultural coincidences in the vineyard which causes the mould ‘Botrytis Cinerea’ to grow on selected grapes and areas of the vineyard which have been subject to humid conditions. Generally, this is the result of geography and indeed some of our best botrytis fruit comes from friends and neighbours vineyards which are very low lying.
The harvest date is critical – too late and the fruit can become washed out, too early and the fruit will not have fully developed the degree of Botrytis Cinerea which we require.
Harvesting occurs up to three times over the vineyard depending on the site. We need fully infected bunches and berries, and this is pressed and fermented at the winery. Typically this is the last parcel of fruit that the cellars receive - as late as July in some years. The fermentation is typically fraught as the high sugar content of the fruit can sometimes inhibit the yeasts from initiating the fermentation.
TASTING NOTES
Almost golden in colour with a clear watery hue, the sweet fruit characters are jumping out of the glass before you even raise it. The aromatic impact is of butterscotch, pear, citrus peel, cumquats, citrus blossom and pineapple cubes. The palate is lush, it is even mouth covering. There are aromas of pears, bush honey, and marmalade botrytis characters with pineapple and orange peel. This wine has superb length and is surprisingly precise, considering the level of residual sugar that is kept in check with the low level of alcohol. It’s intensely luscious but amazingly fresh and clean, characteristic of this noble variety Riesling.
OTHER REVIEWS
"The pick of the crop from over 8,000 tasted!" –Winestate
"Broody burnished gold in colour, this intense aged glory is more like a confection than a drink. The noble rot Botrytis cinerea has taken all the Riesling flavours away and left us with dried apricots soaking in golden syrup. It’s a wicked, sinful, luxury, built for satin sheets. Otherwise, have it with duck liver pate on rye!" -Philip White
"Wonderfully lifted marmalade-like aromas apricots, honey and peaches were some of the judge’s descriptions. Lusciously sweet orange peel marmalade palate. Good, good was all one judge could say!" -Winestate
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