2024 Stargazer Palisander Riesling

95 pts
Another wonderful release of Sam Connew's premium estate-grown Tasmanian Riesling. Power, texture, purity and a whole lot of interest.

Price:
Sale price$50.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Sam Connew doesn’t make cookie-cutter Riesling. From her Palisander vineyard in Tea Tree, planted back in 2002, she’s chasing flavour, texture and detail – not just acid and citrus. The thick-skinned fruit from this site gives her plenty to work with, and she leans into it, fermenting wild in ceramic and concrete eggs and leaving the wine on lees for ten months.

The 2024 has all the classic Coal River Valley markers – green apple, lime and that zippy freshness – but there’s more going on. You’ll find yuzu, mandarin and a touch of fennel, with a salty, chalky edge that keeps it mouth-watering. The acidity is lively, almost sherbet-like, yet softened by that time on lees. It feels bright and pure, but also a little more layered and savoury than your usual Tassie Riesling.

It’s ready to enjoy right now with seafood or on its own, though it’ll easily hold up in the cellar for years. Like everything from Stargazer, it’s made in small quantities and won’t hang around.

95 points
"Focused, textured and with impressive length and shape. There's just-ripe nectarine, pithy citrus and gravelly phenolics at play. Plenty of layers here."
- Aaron Brasher (The Real Review)

Dave Brookes

Dave Brookes

Halliday Wine Companion 95 Points

Riesling sourced from the Palisander vineyard in Tea Tree in the Coal River Valley and made by Samantha Connew. Pale straw with aromas of green apple, lime and grapefruit with hints of flint, clover blossom, wildflowers, distant crushed herbs, cold chamomile tea, crushed stone, sea spray and ozone. There is just a touch of texture on the palate, which shows a focused mineral line and excellent tension between the inherent citrus and apple fruit tones and the chalky mineral cadence. Lovely stuff; crisp, composed drinking.

Aaron Brasher

Aaron Brasher

The Real Review 95 Points

Lifted aromas of brown lime juice, bath salts, grapefruit pith, nettle and jasmine. Focused, textured and with impressive length and shape. There's just-ripe nectarine, pithy citrus and gravelly phenolics at play. Plenty of layers here.

The Palisander Riesling is Stargazer’s dry Riesling and exclusively fermented in ceramic & concrete Egg. Samantha loves the lees contact/unique currents/texture created by fermenting in these vessels.

Sourced exclusively from Stargazer’s own vineyards in the sub region of Tea Tree in the NW side of the Coal River Valley region planted in 2002. Samantha highlights that the soil is brown dermosol on Jurassic dolerite which in layman’s terms is clay loam over ironstone with a high level of calcium, which she mentions promotes thick skins. She loves the extra flavour from this.

Hand picked, destemmed and left on skins for 12 hours then pressed off and wild fermented in a combination of ceramic & concrete egg then 10 months on lees post fermentation.

“Pale soft yellow in colour. There is the trademark Coal River Valley green apple aromatics on the nose along with citrus notes of yuzu and mandarin and hints of fennel pollen. The palate is soft and inviting with sherbetty acid on the finish married with chalk and sea spray from the phenolics. The vibrant acid structure sits in balance with fruit profile.” – Samantha Connew – owner + winemaker

Price Bracket $41 to $50
Type White
Body Light Bodied
Variety Riesling
Country Australia
Region Tasmania
Australian State TAS
Feature Women in Wine
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Real Review
Critic Score 95
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Stargazer

Stargazer is the pint-sized Tasmanian passion project of the talented Samantha Connew. Sam is one of the country's most respected wine judges and a greatly influential voice in the Australian wine industry. Stargazer is her one-woman show, focused around Sam's small, beautiful vineyard works in the Coal River Valley.

She only makes tiny parcels of a few wines. Riesling (and Riesling Blends), Chardonnay & Pinot Noir are her chosen varieties. The quality is outstanding across each and every wine and they rightfully sell out in next to no time each year.

The Stargazer range is a set of beautiful, ethereal representations of the Apple Isle.

Samantha Connew in her Vineyard Discover Stargazer

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