Museum releases are beautiful. No fluffing around with cellaring wines at home, just a twist of the wrist (no worries about cork taint) and bingo, you are tucking into a wine, deemed by the winery to be in its prime and drinking beautifully. This is obviously a very good situation to find yourself in.
The Clare Valley’s 2012 vintage was an absolute stone-cold classic prompting gushing praise and hyperbole from wine hacks across the land. To have a chance to revisit a wine from what has been called one of the best vintages this century is a special treat that you shouldn’t let slip by.
The first thing you notice about this particular bottle is it is draped with seriously bling, festooned with gold medals and trophies from various wine shows around the globe. Anticipation builds.
The wine is mid-straw in colour in the glass. The nose is a knockout. Classic lime fruits are still there but take a backseat to characters of toast, hay, Meyer lemon, Christmas lilies, soft spice, nougat and toasted brioche.
The palate is gorgeous, still retaining that drive, juiciness and tubular, pristine palate shape of a great Clare Riesling. The finish, though: complex, long, fine, toasty, lemony/limey and poised perfectly, it is an absolute joy to drink.
We are damn lucky to have a Riesling region like the Clare Valley on our doorstep. Make the most of it.
LEASINGHAM 2012 Classic Clare Watervale Riesling
leasingham-wines.com.au
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