Kirrihill Single Vineyard, Watervale 'The Settler' Riesling 2019

Clare Valley, $39.00

"Well guys, this is exactly what I was talking about last week, about getting out there and looking around for the unknown brands and supporting the smaller winemakers. Although Kirrihill may not be that small, they were most certainly unknown to me, until today.

For myself, I haven’t heard a lot about Kirrihill in the Clare Valley, although they have been around for a while, the Kirrihill story started in the late ‘90s. It's now 2023 and I have only just discovered their Riesling, shame on me!

It's Friday 17th Feb and it's a stinker in Melbourne. It’s either a beer or a white wine.

Problem solved. I got both from my local bottle shop owned by one of the few people in South Melbourne that cares about good wine. And I mean that as a compliment because the amount of people that care about what they put on the shelves nowadays are few and far between, and the same can be said about the corner shop these days, few and far between!

This Riesling; Had my interest from the first sip! This wine started out so differently, almost to the point I wasn’t sure at all?

It opened with a ghost like hint of kero(sene) on the nose - and in the mouth, then just a quick flash of lolly lemon sweetness? That turned just as quickly to a soft spritz or was it just an acid attack on the front plate?

All this in the first three or four sips, then it began to open slowly into a rather deep round mix of Myer lemon and Sunrise lime, with a wonderful rich and deep mouth feel.

Thank god I picked up this Riesling as it has taken me for a ride over the last 3 hours, as it has opened up to show itself in all its glory with a soft lemon heart, stacks of fresh lime, as well as some floral notes of freshly squeezed lemon appearing front and centre on the plate.

In the mouth I still get a brief spritz on the front palate, that’s awash with a lemon and lime combo working in harmony together, finishing with a sense of texture and flavour that lingers in (the) mouth long after the wine is swallowed.

This has been a good day for me, discovering something new and exciting, a Clare Valley Riesling I have not heard of before, let alone tasted. I can only describe this wine as elegant, a wine that has subtle flavours that are in total balance, and for myself this has been a real treat to find this hidden Clare Valley gem.

And what to eat with this wine? The most appropriate take-away treat was California sushi filled with Blue swimmer crab meat and mayo, it tasted fine and went down a treat with this wine. (remember keep it simple)

Rating: 5 Stars *****

This wine is hard to find around Melbourne. However, I reckon you can order from the winery. Or go to my corner store the choice is yours." - Michael Lillis - The Rot Has Set In.