2018 St Francis Xavier Museum Release Riesling
The St Francis Xavier Riesling is grown in highly mineral and slatey soils, and this minerality is apparent on the nose and palate, making it a splendid example of how Riesling captures the character of its site.
Mid to deep straw in colour. Ripe Riesling aromas of nectarine and blood orange with herbal notes of lemon verbena and jasmine flow from the glass. Some aged citrus oil characters are also coming into play. The palate is very soft upfront with mellow nectarine and melon fruit flavours and progress through the palate with a fine cumquot length.
The 2018 St Francis Xavier Single-Vineyard Riesling was produced with fruit from the Weikert Vineyard, one of Sevenhill’s five Riesling vineyards. This small vineyard (0.82ha) was planted in 1978 and consistently produces outstanding fruit to meet premium requirements. The highly regarded clone from Geisheim is planted in the protected site. The vineyard’s red-brown loam over shale and cool, sheltered aspect are key elements in achieving the balanced growth and fine qualities we seek for our premium Rieslings.
The winemaking style is preservation of the pristine fruit characters that develop during ripening of the berries. The grapes were picked in the coolest period of the day on March 7 and crushed and de-stemmed, with only free-run juice captured to minimise the impact of phenolics and tannins from seeds and skins. The free-run juice was racked to a stainless-steel tank and fermented at a cool temperature over 12 days. The Weikert block has high natural acidity and minerality, giving the St Francis Xavier Single-Vineyard Riesling the backbone to age beautifully and increase in complexity.
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