Rieslingfreak No.2 Polish Hill River Riesling 2024
Established by John Hughes in 2009, Rieslingfreak started as a passion-project, was born from a long-running love for the Riesling variety. Today the portfolio has grown and evolved to include 19 different Riesling styles!
Since the beginning, Rieslingfreak's mission has been to produce quality Rieslings that best represent both style and region. They craft Rieslings that reveal the qualities of essential South Australian wine regions, including Clare Valley, Eden Valley and Polish Hill River. It's easy to get the hang of, each of the Rieslingfreak wines is assigned a number, and the number represents both the region where the grape is grown, and the style of the Riesling in the bottle.
The Rieslingfreak collection includes dry, sweet, sparkling, and fortified Riesling styles. True are not many grape varieties in the world that provides a winemaker the same level of versatility that Riesling does. To drive it home, Rieslingfreak’s Belinda Hughes, speaks to the versatility of Riesling, “I believe riesling to be the ultimate versatile variety... from dry to sweet, sparkling to fortified, there is almost nothing riesling can’t do – and do well!" Not only that, the variety has natural capability to hold elevated acid levels making it uniquely suited to delicate dry wines as well as perfectly balanced sweeter styles, and also imparts longevity and enables long-term cellaring.
The other thing Riesling does well is its ability to effortless accept oak. To argue oak in Riesling, Anne Hughes, John's mum and source of Clare Valley Riesling, takes the mic. While many Australian makers see oak as an affront in riesling, playing it safe to preserve fruit purity at all costs, the reality is that oak is very traditional. “While the use of oak and wild fermentation is relatively rare in Aussie riesling, the Germans have been using oak vessels with riesling for centuries,” says Hughes. Most of the vats used at Rieslingfreak are so old, the oak flavour in the wines is barely perceptible, this subtle influence imparts a distinctive elegance and an old-world charm that truly sets their wines apart from the rest.
Riesling Freak are also boundary pushing, respecting tradition, they've learned the rules to break them. While they certainly embrace the classic steely Aussie style and have paid homage to textured German styles, they go further aiming to push the boundaries of what riesling means in this country. Anne Hughes says, "riesling is remarkably well suited as a canvas for more exuberant expressions." The variety's high natural acidity is the key factor, that makes it perfect for oak fermentation and maturation - a vinification more commonly association to Burgundian Chardonnay. Anne explains it best, “natural preservation due to low pH and the delicacy of the base wine allows secondary characters to shine. Why can’t riesling be as textural and complex as a top-shelf barrel fermented chardonnay? Why can’t the winemaker embrace the bolder flair of Antoni Gaudi, rather than the restraint of Da Vinci in creating a riesling of great beauty?” You can find this style, that blurs the line between old and new world in Riesling No.1. Only made in the good years, in a way that distinguishes it from any other Rieslingfreak wine. This wine has been wild fermented in a large-format oak barrel, producing a Riesling with texture and unprecedented complexity; combining subtle, spicy oak notes with delicate tropical and heady floral aromas, strewn together by tight, linear acidity that will drive this wine many years into the future and definitely one for the Rieslingfreaks among us.
Each Rieslingfreak wine is allocated an individual number representing both the region where the grapes are grown, and the style in which the wine is made.
No.2 is a dry style, showcasing many of the refinements typical of the Polish Hill River. The limestone and shale rock soil profile are reflected in the wine with mineral and slate notes. The Polish Hill River vineyard, owned by Robert and Lyn Jaeschke is south-east of the Clare township, in the heart of the Polish Hill River. Planted on grey loam over sandy limestone and shale rock, these vines produce tight Rieslings.
Polish Hill River is renowned for producing Riesling of elegance, and the 2024 No. 2 is the ultimate example of this. The bouquet is highly perfumed with aromas of fresh green apple, jasmine, and lemon balm with a hints of honeysuckle and fresh linen. The palate is crisp yet silky-soft, with a fine, talc-like minerality imparting a pleasing slipperiness to the texture in the mouth. The bright flavours of Granny Smith apple and yuzu run a fine line between sweet and tart, while the elegant and complex palate is punctuated with bright natural acidity, imparting exceptional length and a clean, crisp finish.
Polish River-sourced fruit from two picks spaced 10 days apart. Water-white with a flash of green and fruit aromas of freshly squeezed lime juice, makrut lime and lemongrass. Hints of citrus blossom, crushed stone, celery salt, Christmas lily, green-apple sorbet and liminal notes of clover and honeysuckle. Such a sleek, tightly bound package, with a steely focus, porcelain acidity and a pitch-perfect tubular palate shape. It's lovely saline and sapid drinking now, but this will age beautifully. - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 98 Points.
This vintage’s star of the Rieslingfreak sub-regional expressions shows off the distinctive mineral traces typical of Polish Hill River vineyards, which provide a sturdy backbone to rich and generous lime and lemon flavours. It opens with a seductive bouquet of fresh green apple and jasmine, before the influence of fine chalky tannins defines the shape of a curvy mid-palate that shows a long citrus core gripped with a trace of honeysuckle, with an irresistible smack of minerality at the conclusion. - Decanter, 97 Points.
The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Riesling
Country - Australia
Region - Polish Hill, Clare Valley, South Australia
Vintage - 2024
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 10.3%