Showing all 7 results

• White Wine

  2018 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry

  £3350

  The 2018 Florita is a wine of immense purity and drive that is bursting with intense aromas of lemon, lime and citrus blossom. The tightly wound palate delivers laser focussed acidity and crisp lime juice at its core and shows all the hallmarks of Florita Riesling.

  The famed Florita Vineyard is synonymous with the classic grape variety and was planted with Riesling grapes by Leo Buring in 1962. In 1986, the Barry family acquired the 32-hectare property. Florita’ is Spanish for ‘little flower’ and the first release of this micro-batch of premium Riesling was in 2004; it was the fruit of years of patience. Individual rows are selected where the terra rossa and loam soils barely cover the deep limestone below and the vines deliver a wonderful elegance. The Clare Valley climate is continental, with a high diurnal temperature difference. The cool nights allow the Riesling vines to preserve the crisp natural acidity and delicate flavours.

  Purchase & earn 34 points!Add to Basket
• White Wine

  2021 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry

  £3350

  Jim Barry’s iconic and outstanding single-vineyard Riesling, The Florita, stands tall at the top of the tree for Clare Valley Riesling.

  Located fifteen kilometres south of Clare township in the tiny village of Watervale, Florita – Spanish for ‘little flower’ – comes from a famous Riesling vineyard planted to Palamino in 1946 for making Fino Sherry but was replanted to Riesling in 1962. This was the birthplace of Leo Buring Watervale Riesling and the Florita vineyards, where legendary winemaker John Vickery sourced his grapes for his great Watervale Rieslings of the 1960s and 1970s.

  The 80-acre vineyard was bought by 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. A wine with a reputation second to none for consistency and a true benchmark wine.

  The 2021 is a simply astonishing incarnation that Riesling lovers would be remiss to not have in their cellar. Drink 2027 – 2050 +

  Purchase & earn 34 points!Add to Basket
• White Wine

  2010 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry

  £3800

  This legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.

  The 2012 Florita Riesling has an ultra reserved pristine nose of lovely lifted kaffir lime leaves and musky, floral notes with a hint of fresh lemongrass. The palate is all about delicacy, power, finesse and
  balance, with a huge amount of length and structure coming from the natural acid backbone and the generosity of the lime citrus centred fruit.
  A magnificent cellar worthy Riesling.

  The Florita has an incredible story, and we urge you to read it below in the ‘Producer info’ section.

  Purchase & earn 38 points!Add to Basket
• White Wine

  2008 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry

  £3900

  This legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.

  The Florita Story

  This story is best told by famous Australian wine writer, Huon Hooke and head of the Barry Family, Peter Barry who below tell the wonderful story of Florita…..

  It starts in 1946, just after the war, when Leo Buring bought land at Watervale and planted Pedro ximénez for sherry – the preferred wine of Australians at the time. He named the vineyard Florita, which is Spanish for ‘little flower’ – a reference to the sherry flor (or flower), the film of yeast that covers the dry flor sherry as it matures in its ullaged casks.  Public tastes shifted, table wine became fashionable, and in 1962 Buring’s winemaker John Vickery began to remove Pedro and plant riesling. “He started to make riesling (wine), which began to be seen as the future of Australian white wine,” says Barry. Indeed, Vickery and the Leo Buring brand became almost synonymous with riesling.   “In 1986 Philip Morris (the tobacco company which owned the Leo Buring brand at the time) had six years supply of riesling in its cellars, and no-one was drinking it – chardonnay was the new fashion. They decided to sell the Florita vineyard.

  My brothers and I went to the auction. I was 24.  Mum said ‘You’re not allowed to buy it’. She said we already had plenty of vineyards. We told Dad he’d better buy it, and that would let us off the hook.
  Southcorp (the precursor of Treasury Wine Group) owned the Florita trademark at the time, and although the Barrys began using the grapes immediately, they couldn’t use the name.
  “I had to wait eight years until the registration period was up, but then Southcorp renewed it for another 10 years, so I had to wait 18 years all told, and I registered the name Florita two days after it lapsed.

  Eighteen years is a long time to wait for a drink.”

  Purchase & earn 39 points!Add to Basket
• White Wine

  2009 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry

  £3900

  This legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.

  The Florita Story

  This story is best told by famous Australian wine writer, Huon Hooke and head of the Barry Family, Peter Barry who below tell the wonderful story of Florita…..

  It starts in 1946, just after the war, when Leo Buring bought land at Watervale and planted Pedro ximénez for sherry – the preferred wine of Australians at the time. He named the vineyard Florita, which is Spanish for ‘little flower’ – a reference to the sherry flor (or flower), the film of yeast that covers the dry flor sherry as it matures in its ullaged casks.  Public tastes shifted, table wine became fashionable, and in 1962 Buring’s winemaker John Vickery began to remove Pedro and plant riesling. “He started to make riesling (wine), which began to be seen as the future of Australian white wine,” says Barry. Indeed, Vickery and the Leo Buring brand became almost synonymous with riesling.   “In 1986 Philip Morris (the tobacco company which owned the Leo Buring brand at the time) had six years supply of riesling in its cellars, and no-one was drinking it – chardonnay was the new fashion. They decided to sell the Florita vineyard.

  My brothers and I went to the auction. I was 24.  Mum said ‘You’re not allowed to buy it’. She said we already had plenty of vineyards. We told Dad he’d better buy it, and that would let us off the hook.
  Southcorp (the precursor of Treasury Wine Group) owned the Florita trademark at the time, and although the Barrys began using the grapes immediately, they couldn’t use the name.
  “I had to wait eight years until the registration period was up, but then Southcorp renewed it for another 10 years, so I had to wait 18 years all told, and I registered the name Florita two days after it lapsed.

  Eighteen years is a long time to wait for a drink.”

  Purchase & earn 39 points!Add to Basket
• White Wine

  2005 Wigan Riesling, Peter Lehmann

  £4500

  From the shallow rocky soils of the Eden Valley, the Wigan Riesling has become one of Australia;s most celebrated wines.

  Named after its winemaker, Andrew Wigan who until his recent retirement had a hand in every Peter Lehman vintage from its first in 1980, it is only released after 5 years from vintage to capture the wines full potential.

  Andrew ‘Wigs’ Wigan revolutionised white winemaking and championed the Riesling grape and his eponymous wine has been named IWSC ‘Best Riesling in the World’ six times and accumulated more than 80 trophies since its inaugural vintage.

  This 2005 wigan is a masterpiece and is perfectly described up by the winemaker, Andrew Wigan: ‘They commence life as wines of great purity and end up as wines of great complexity’.  This 05 is exactly that! Lemon, lime and honey on the nose intermingled with that unique aged riesling character. The palate is still crisp and fresh but developed with gorgeous flavours of lemon, toast, lime and spice with toasted honey characters persisting onto the back palate. The finish reinforces these flavours and it is so so long.

  Simply magnificent aged Eden Valley Riesling from the Master.

  Purchase & earn 45 points!Add to Basket
• White Wine

  2012 Trevarrick Riesling, Skillogalee

  £4500

  “Trevarrick” was the original name of the property when it was first settled by John and Anne Trestrail in the 1850s. More than a century later, in 1970 this magnificent piece of land was planted to vines and Skillogalee was born. With each individual contour block on the estate harvested and vinified individually, the Trevarrick name is reserved for those contours which exhibit exceptional quality and varietal character.

  The grapes for this wine were selectively harvested from the highest altitude, earliest ripening contour on the property at around 500m. The stony, thin soils and topography of this part of the vineyard produce unique, high-quality grapes bursting with varietal character.

  Purchase & earn 45 points!Add to Basket