2023 Mount Majura Riesling

WINEMAKER: Frank van de Loo
REGION: Canberra District, NSW
VARIETY: Riesling
VITICULTURE: Sustainable

Our original planting of Riesling in the Pines block, the coolest, most south-easterly aspect of our site, has now been supplemented with Riesling grafted onto vines of similar age in the North block, a little steeper and more east-facing. After twenty vintages, we recognize typical characters that our site produces: white blossom aromatics and citrus characters leaning more towards lemon peel and grapefruit, and often a hint of aniseed.

Mount Majura Vineyard lies near the top of the Majura Valley, just outside the city of Canberra. The valley floor, too frosty in Spring for vines, was a camping area and transit corridor for the original Ngunnawal people. To a vigneron, an east-facing slope with limestone speaks softly but urgently of a need to plant vines. So it was that the late Dr Edgar Riek, a pioneer of viticulture in the Canberra District, came to plant a vineyard together with the then owner of our site, Mrs Dinny Killen.