Powell & Son Eden Valley Riesling
Powell & Son (first vintage 2014) is the venture of Barossa Valley legend Dave Powell and his son Callum. This Riesling comes from a 5ha vineyard in the Flaxman’s Valley district of the Eden Valley (Barossa Region) where the low-yielding vines were planted (at 460m) in the 1930s. Grapes are hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, cold settled and fermented dry in stainless steel prior to cold stabilisation and bottling. The wine aims to be a pure expression of Eden Valley Riesling.
About 300 dozen are made each year and the wine displays typical characters of Eden Valley Riesling: lemon rind, floral perfumes, honeysuckle and crushed stones, a fresh palate with a firm acid backbone and a long steely finish.
"Always a suite of wines I look forward to… Powell & Sons going sort of quietly about their business, focussing on older vines, good sites, expressions that speak of Barossa Heartland. This is off a quartz-riddled vineyard in Flaxman’s of the Eden Valley, which seems to be a bit of a theme from vineyards/wines I like from that parish (think Ruggabellus too). The vines are 90-years-old or so.
Beautiful riesling, arrow shaped, lively with fruit-floral characters, strong sense of ‘minerality’ and a finish that trails off and then puckers up with light talc-like chalkiness. It’s precise, energetic, fine-boned yet packed with lip-smacking limey flavours. Refreshing and complex at once. The best release of this wine yet."
95 points, The Wine Front (July 2018)
"There are 300 cases of the 2017 Riesling, sourced from 90-year-old dry-grown vines. Really vibrant and fresh, it boasts aromas of lime and wet stone, finishing dry, clean and crisp. It will round out a bit with age, but it's so enjoyable now, I'd opt for drinking it young."
91 points, Wine Advocate (September 2018)
"The light gold colored 2017 Riesling Eden Valley has a rich, classic Riesling nose of crushed citrus, lychee, wet granite, and tart green apples. With medium-bodied richness, nicely integrated acidity, and a dry, clean finish, it’s a terrific example of this variety that’s ideal for drinking over the coming 4-5 years. I suspect it will have an interesting evolution beyond that as well."
90 points, Jeb Dunnuck (February 2019)
