2010 Howard Park Riesling Tasting Notes

The 2010 vintage growing season got off to a fantastic start with warmer than average spring conditions. This allowed good fruit set and powered the vines up for even ripening during the average summer conditions. Intense tight flavours and juicey acidity developed allowing us to pick before the autumn warmed up too much.

The fruit upon arrival at the winery was immediately processed to ensure the highest quality juice. Only free run juice, which is tighter and more finely structured as it has no phenolic character, was used for this wine.

Most juice batches showed wonderfully restrained Riesling aromatics, fine elegant fruit and great length. We kept 5 individual batches separate which were cool fermented in stainless steel tanks to maintain the delicate fruit flavours. 

Very pale straw with green tinges in colour. Lifted aromatics of musky talcum powder, ripe pear and citrus blossoms greet the taster's nose. The palate is both zesty and lengthy with lingering citrus fruit and minimally musk corralled by tight acidity. These attributes bode well for a lengthy and lip smacking life of this wine.

A great cellaring prospect. Whilst drinking fantastically well now, the 2010 Howard Park Riesling will peak in 5-7 years and drink well into its maturity for another 15-20 years under screwcap.