2024 Eden Valley Riesling

Following a challenging and relatively wet 2023, we approached 2024 with optimism, anticipating a more typical vintage. Instead, we encountered an exceptionally dry season, which tested our vines after a relatively easy year. To navigate these conditions, we implemented measured irrigation to ensure our canopies remained adequate for ripening and applied a natural clay 'sunscreen' spray to shield the Mengler fruit from excessive sun exposure. The dry weather accelerated ripening, leading us to harvest the two parcels within days of each
other. The Craneford fruit was machine-harvested in the cool early morning, while the Mengler fruit was handpicked a couple of days later. As we begin to understand the characteristics of our Mengler fruit, we fermented the parcels
separately to gain valuable insights into its expression of site throughout fermentation and beyond. The resulting blend of the two parcels demonstrates how Mengler fruit enhances our Riesling, adding to the fragrance of our Craneford vineyard while giving the wine a more serious edge and layers of complexity. - Jules Ashmead & Brock Harrison