2025 Crawford River Riesling
2025 Crawford River Riesling

2025 Crawford River Riesling

97 pts
Crawford River |Henty |Riesling
One of the finest Rieslings in the country, in typically scintillating form.
Price:
$58.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Crawford River is the absolute benchmark for Australian Riesling, and Belinda Thomson is crafting some of the most compelling whites in the country right now. The 2025 season threw some serious challenges her way down in Henty, with a brutal dry winter and spring frosts that hammered the yields. The silver lining with such a tiny crop is the sheer concentration of the fruit that survived - it is pristine, dense, and packed with flavor.

Sourced from the original 1970s vines, this release is all about power and a deep mineral core. It skips the simple citrus tropes, opening instead with a grounded mix of orange blossom, wet stone, and a distinct line of Kaffir lime.

There is real weight and generosity here, but a pithy texture and a bit of mealy complexity from time on lees keep it tracking beautifully across the palate. It has the structural stuffing to cellar for a decade or more, but if you are opening one tonight, just give it some air in the glass to let it unwind. We reckon this is right on par with their best releases yet.

97 points
"A multifaceted bouquet of pure lemon zest, orange blossom, jasmine and wet stone. Concentrated, gently textured and very energetic on the palate, culminating in a long, mouth-watering finish."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

97 points - "A vibrant green gold. A multifaceted bouquet of pure lemon zest, orange blossom, jasmine and wet stone. Concentrated, gently textured and very energetic on the palate, culminating in a long, mouth-watering finish. My advice is to drink the Strata Riesling now while you wait for this to mature into something special over the next 10 years plus." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

“The 2025 vintage is characterised by concentration and definition. A dry season lead to density and purity, with intense mineral expression.”
— Belinda Thomson, Vigneron

Season
After an incredibly dry Winter, we had a small, insignificant top up of rain in early Spring – though not substantial. The dry conditions lead to inevitable frost in Spring, considerably affecting yields, especially in the Strata block. In the areas not affected by frost, fruit set was very good.

The dry season provided a season of low disease pressure which was a small mercy. Harvest was on the early side thanks in part to the dry, warm conditions. Fruit quality was excellent and incredibly concentrated across the vineyard.

Vineyard
The fruit for this wine is sourced from the oldest parts of the vineyard. In 1975/6 our first Riesling blocks were planted on two gentle ridges lying side by side. Sharing a similar NNW aspect and very similar soil composition, both blocks have a dominance of gravelly, ironstone-rich, free draining clay loam.

A further block planted in 1977 tends to a WNW aspect, has less gravel, more sandy loam, and closer proximity to its limestone base. We find the combined expression of these soils show white florals aromatically and layers of mineral, textural intensity throughout the palate. The clone is G198.

Winery
Method: Made using whole cluster fruit at the press.

Fermentation: Spontaneous fermentation following a natural settle. Cool fermented to dryness, in 100% stainless steel.

Aging: The wine spent a period of roughly 8 weeks on lees prior to racking and blending.

Bottling: Bottled September 2025.

Closure: Screwcap.

Winemakers Notes
Intense concentration of flavours with a mineral core. Aromatically earthy and stone-like, with an underlying orange blossom note. Undertones of Kaffir lime.

This wine has an intensity that demands attention, with lingering white florals through the mid palate and a mealy, autolysed yeast component throughout, lending both complexity and density to the wine. Generous fruit weight combined with a pithy texture and gentle acidity elongates the palate and adds to marvellous length and depth. It lingers and lengthens. Balance, purity and length combined. A joy, especially with a little air and time in the glass.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Riesling
Country Australia
Region Henty
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Iconic
Women in Wine
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 97
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Crawford River

Crawford River is very much a family operation. The talented Thomson clan have been producing wine from their beautiful home vineyard since 1985.

The Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc thrive on the estate, but it's Riesling that they are most famous for.

They produce a range of styles of varying ages that are outstanding. Many consider them as one of the country's premier producers of the noble variety.

These are wines of purity and elegance. Small-batch, family-owned, traditional winemaking and good, honest farming is at the core of everything Crawford River does.

Belinda and John Thomson - Henty, VIC Crawford River

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