2022 Rieslingfreak No. 8 Schatzkammer Polish Hill River Riesling
Clare Valley, SA
German-inspired Riesling from the Clare Valley, made in a classic Kabinett style.
$34.00
...cleansingly dry and super-refreshing. Already a gorgeous drink.
Huon Hooke (The Real Review)
About The Wine
One of the great things about Riesling is that you can mold it into any form you like. Want it dry? Ferment it dry. Want it sweet? You can have that, too...
John Hughes loves Riesling in all its forms and guises.
The No. 8 from Rieslingfreak is modelled off the German Kabinett style of Riesling. It's picked early to preserve the searing natural acid of young Clare Valley fruit, then has the ferment arrested just as John decrees that the balance of sugar and acid is right where he wants it.
It's sweet yet refreshing all at once. This is one of the top of the pile sweeter-styled Riesling in the country.
About Rieslingfreak
A producer with a single-minded varietal focus is a rarity in Australian wine, John Hughes is one of those rarities.
John was born on an old Riesling vineyard in his home of the Clare Valley. To this day he produces some of South Australia's most articulate expressions of Riesling as his sole winemaking mission.
The wines show exquisite purity and elegance and sit comfortably among the best examples that South Australia has to offer.
Clare Valley, SA
From The Producer
Rieslingfreak No.8 is harvested from the Polish Hill River vineyard. Schatzkammer is a German word meaning ‘ Treasure Chamber’. This is where German Winemakers store their treasured wines. The No.8 is made in a German Kabinett style. Due to European labelling laws, we are not legally allowed to use the word ‘Kabinett’ on wine labels. Therefore, I have used the work Schatzkammer, a play on the word Kabinett, and it is my treasured wine!
Harvested early in the season, the wine is low in alcohol. Made in a sweet Kabinett style, the wine also retains great amounts of acid, balancing out the sweetness and fruit perfectly.
Blend : Riesling (100%)
ABV : 7%
Closure : Screw Cap
Drink Until : 2032
Bottle Size : 750ml
Clare Valley, SA
Critic Reviews
"The bouquet is shy and reserved but exudes hauntingly refined, delicate aromas of fresh herbs and flowers, the palate serving upGood length and precision, the finish cleansingly dry and super-refreshing. Already a gorgeous drink., recalling fresh lemon and mandarin. Good length and precision, the finish cleansingly dry and super-refreshing. Already a gorgeous drink." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)
"Mmmm, one sniff and I’m already dreaming of some lemon-iced crunchy pastry. It’s young, so no tertiary aromas per se and as of yet, but this smells tasty and promising already. Cool fruit, lime leaves and green apples, cucumber and basil candied note. Palate has that medium sweetness but it’s immediately cleansed by a huge wave of acidity. Sweet limes and green apples. Sugar cushions the acid dropping deep onto taste buds. Damn, this is moreish, I can see a bottle going down easy. I’d like to try it aged too, if it’s possible at all to keep your hands off it." - Kasia Sobiesiak (The Wine Front)
"This heads forthrightly in the direction of traditional medium-sweet German Spätlese and it shares the honeysuckle aroma, racy brilliance and refreshing juiciness with them (think Joh. Jos. Prüm!) I love the tarte aux citron character on the mid palate and the very long wet stone finish. Great aging potential. Drink or hold. Screw cap." - JamesSuckling.com
"The fruit for this 2022 No. 8 is from Polish Hill River in the Clare Valley. This is an exotic Riesling with a very different acid profile from the other Rieslings in the lineup. This of course is in response to the 38.7 grams per liter of residual sugar, which lowers the perception of acid, making for a far rounder, softer and more sloping shape in the mouth, as compared to the drier wines in this 2022 vintage. You get lemon sherbet, talc, bath salt and green apple skins. It's not an easy thing to detangle the fruit character from the structure of the wine. It lingers in the mouth and has great length, but it's not immediately obvious at first sip. An intriguing wine. It's intensely appley: like green apple skins, apple purée and apple blossom. Its time is not now. In a year, two years, three years ... this will be better." - Erin Larkin (Robert Parker Wine Advocate)
"From Polish Hill River. A medium-sweet style that’s superbly balanced. Set on a knife’s edge of sweet fruit, honeyed elements, waxy texture and cool acidity, the wine has concentration and inherent freshness all wrapped up. Scents of ripe lime, sweet apple juice, green melon and honeysuckle, with flavours similarly oriented. Gently sweet, for sure, but with this ticklish tang and lively fizz of acidity mopping things up wonderfully. What a drink!" - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
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