Wine Review: Pikes Cocky Riesling Rules the Roost

It ruled the roost at the recent 2016 Clare Valley wine show, picking up a swag of trophies and it is easy to see why. It is a fantastic wine that celebrates all that is great about Riesling in this famous wine region.

It’s a single–vineyard wine from Pike’s Gill’s Farm and Hill Blocks in the renowned Polish Hill River sub–region of the Clare Valley. It is a wine that has quickly established itself as a benchmark for the variety in Australia.

Its pristine, laser–like focus and sapid, mouth–smacking finish and purity of fruit is stunning and, while it is just lovely to drink now, you know that it is more than likely to be world class with a bit of time in the cellar. Pale straw with green flashes, the wine displays an aromatic profile of crystalline purity and clarity.

Detailed lime, lemon and citrus characters abound along with hints of Christmas lilies, almond blossom, crushed quartz, Epsom salts along with lighter notes of fennel and jasmine. In the mouth it is all about clarity and drive across the palate, the limey fruit racing along, propelled by a beautiful line of shimmering, porcelain acidity.

It is at once both driven and retrained, the very picture of elegance. Again, lime and lemon fruits abound, flecked with floral blossom notes, a touch of talc and enough ‘minerality’ to keep the most frothing of wine geeks happy. The finish is long, pure and dry, trailing off slowly with a vapour trail of lime, slate and floral notes.

Just gorgeous.

2016 The Merle Riesling
pikeswines.com.au