2024 Jim Barry The Florita Riesling

Highly Rated
A finely tuned, small-batch Riesling from one of Clare Valley’s most storied vineyards, made with quiet confidence and built to age.

Price:
Sale price$57.00
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In stock, ready to ship
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Description

The Florita vineyard in Watervale has been producing some of the Clare Valley’s most iconic Rieslings for decades, and Jim Barry’s bottling from this site is always one to watch. First made in 2004, it’s a small-batch wine that comes from a select parcel of vines planted back in 1962, originally for the Leo Buring label. These days, it’s the Barry family who stewards this historic patch, and they don’t miss.

The 2024 vintage brings all the hallmarks you’d expect from Florita: power without heaviness, bright citrus fruit, and the kind of precision that only Clare’s best vineyards can offer. There’s no showy winemaking here - just meticulous vineyard work, hand-picking, and a clean, low-intervention approach in the winery that lets the fruit speak for itself.

It’s delicious now but has all the structure and drive to reward a good stint in the cellar. The Barrys have long nailed the balance of history and craft, and this release is a clear reminder why they sit at the top of the Clare Riesling game.

96 points
"Lavender and chamomile floral lift, sleek and racy lime juice with lemongrass, gingery spice and wet slate minerality… Finesse personified with energy to burn. Vivid, scintillating riesling."
- Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points
"Lemon, lime, lemongrass, lavender perfume… Essence of Clare Riesling with fine, well-settled acidity and a stony grip… A light gin and tonic with a twist of citrus on the finish. Excellent."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points
"Piercingly fresh and crisp with driving acidity and lip-smacking lemony flavours… High-tensile and promises to age well. Superb riesling."
- Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

95 points
"Tense and tightly coiled, with lemon zest, beeswax, green apple, and shaved fennel… Compact and savory, with acid drive and phenolic presence suggesting age-worthiness."
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

96 points - "A stupendous riesling of immense regional character and yet flair, personality and precision as calling cards. Pretty lavender and chamomile floral lift, sleek and racy lime juice characters spiked with lemongrass, gingery spice, pepper and some wet slate minerality with accompanying textural grip. Finesse personified with energy to burn. Vivid, scintillating riesling." - Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "Finely constructed with such purity and complexity, showing aromas of kaffir limes, struck match, white flowers, lemon peel and slate. The palate has very high energy and tension with a driving acidity and powerful undertone that will unravel for years to come. Made from vines planted on limestone in 1962, bringing a chalky aspect to the wine. Excellent. Drink or hold. Screw cap." - JamesSuckling.com

95 points - "Florita, I think, often has this purity about it. How’s the purity? Lemon, lime, lemongrass, lavender perfume. It’s bright, and pure, essence of Clare Riesling with enough flavour to carry it, though not too much, and the acidity feel particularly fine and well-settled, and there’s this quiet stony grip, with a bright finish of very good length, a light gin and tonic with a twist of citrus carrying in the aftertaste. Excellent." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points - "Pale, water-white colour, very restrained nose, some lime pith aromas, the palate piercingly fresh and crisp with driving acidity and a long, energetic finish. Lip-smacking lemony flavours. This is backward, high-tensile and promises to take some age well. Superb riesling." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

95 points - "The 2024 The Florita Riesling is tense and tightly coiled, with lemon zest, beeswax, green apple, cheesecloth, white pepper and shaved fennel. I find this to be quite a compact and savory iteration of the Florita, far less floral and talc-like than other years. I am looking to the acid drive and the phenolic presence for direction here, and both suggest that patience may be rewarded. 12.4% alcohol, sealed under screw cap." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

Florita’ is Spanish for ‘little flower’. Located fifteen kilometres south of Clare township in the tiny village of Watervale, the famous Riesling vineyard was planted to Palamino in 1946 for making Fino Sherry, and replanted to Riesling in 1962. The birthplace of Leo Buring Watervale Riesling, Florita was where legendary winemaker John Vickery sourced his grapes for his great Watervale Rieslings of the 1960s and 1970s. The 80-acre vineyard was sold by globally-owned multi-national company, Lindeman's to brother's Mark, Peter and John Barry in 1986.

First released as the 'Florita Riesling' in 2004 by Jim Barry Wines, this micro-batch Riesling is made from grapes hand-selected from individual rows. Its best fruit comes from vines planted in shallow loamy soils and the vineyard has good air-drainage which alleviates the risk of frost.

Aroma
The Florita 2024 leaps from the glass, with white florals, orange blossom, orange rind, exotic lime, bath salts and fresh wild lavender.
Palate
Crystalline from the second the wine enters the mouth. The characters of the nose flow through to the palate, all finishing with dried lime leaves.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Riesling
Country Australia
Region Clare Valley
Australian State SA
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
The Real Review
The Wine Advocate
James Suckling
Critic Score 96
95
Alcohol 12%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Jim Barry

Jim Barry Wines is a family affair in the Clare Valley.

Founded by one of SA's most influential wine figures, this producer has been one of the most acclaimed in the region since it began in 1974.

They focus primarily on traditional Clare Valley varieties, with a myriad of laser-sharp Rieslings, powerful Shiraz and intense Cabernet blends making up the foundations of the range. With a sprawling range including everything from super-premium to top value, they are considered a cornerstone of the Clare with classic wines that develop beautifully in the cellar given time.

Now, with the third generation of Barrys - Sam, Tom and Olivia - now in charge of the winemaking, marketing and business development, there is a new energy about the brand and there are plenty of exciting new things on the horizon.

Peter, Tom & Sam Barry - Clare Valley Jim Barry

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