Eden Valley Riesling 2023: Vintage report and 15 wines to buy

Eden Valley winemakers will reflect on the 2023 Riesling vintage for two powerful reasons. First, its long and cool harvest, which guaranteed rich fruit that retained strong acidity. And second, the death of inspirational pioneer and Riesling master John Vickery.

Curiously, the influence of both factors had a bearing on the 2023 vintage, which became evident at a recent gathering of Eden Valley wine producers presenting a comparative tasting of their new-release Rieslings.

Scroll down for notes and scores of 15 Eden Valley Rieslings from the 2023 vintage

Assembling a wine industry tasting of almost 50 Rieslings from this sub-region of the Barossa in South Australia is now an annual event. It celebrates Eden Valley having a very specific identity to the Barossa Valley, with distinctly different soil profiles, elevation and topography.

The tasting also amplifies Eden Valley’s place among Australia’s preeminent Riesling locations, as a strong rival to producers in the Clare Valley, Tasmania and Frankland River in Western Australia.

What was evident among these new releases is the enduring legacy of Vickery, who was instrumental in establishing a style that captured fine, delicate flavours and continues to define the attributes of Australia’s best Rieslings.

His Leo Buring Riesling from 1955 generated unprecedented excitement for Riesling at the time, and signalled the first white wines of consequence in Australia.

The great and the good of Eden

Vickery’s passing on 23 September at the age of 90, having won more than 50 trophies and 400 gold medals across more than 50 years as a winemaker, was acknowledged by the gathered winemakers.

He was remembered for setting exacting standards in his winery, which others in the Barossa noted – especially after Vickery’s major awards began rolling in – and duly followed suit. Excellence throughout the region blossomed, putting Eden Valley Riesling on a pedestal. Standards have never diminished.

It was appropriate that the tribute to Vickery was spoken by Andrew Wigan, an acolyte of the late great Peter Lehmann and master winemaker responsible for the revered Wigan Reserve Riesling made by Peter Lehmann Wines.

Wigan still serves as a consultant in his retirement, offering advice on several impressive Eden Valley Rieslings from the current vintage, including Tomfoolery and Gibson Wines.

Other disciples continue to follow John Vickery’s lead, most notably Phil Lehmann, son of Peter Lehmann, who had worked with Vickery to launch the Vickery Riesling label in 2016.

Phil is now producing his own classic style of Eden Valley Riesling with his boutique Max & Me label. But he also makes Riesling for Eden Hall Wines, remaining true to the Vickery winemaking gospel, with all wines stellar examples of poise and purity.

Divergent interpretations

However, there is more than one way to make Riesling, as the diverse spread of offerings at the 2023 vintage tasting illustrated.

While the favourable 2023 vintage showed generous flavours and long palate length, a broad variety of styles ranged from severe and austere, to lush wines with more rounded mid-palate texture, to vivacious, sunny wines carrying a trace of residual sugar. To presume Eden Valley Riesling is only about citrus blossom, steely acidity and a mineral lick is a mistake.

To emphasise this, several Eden Valley producers now issue more than one Riesling, not only to identify terroir differences but also to experiment with different production styles and textures.

The most enthusiastic purveyors of multiple Riesling expressions are John and Belinda Hughes, whose Rieslingfreak label produces a dozen different styles each vintage, sourced from two regions.

‘It’s a grape that allows – and deserves – many different types of expression,’ says John. ‘So that’s what we’ve done over many vintages, and every style deserves its place.’

Styles of substance

This path has inspired others in the Eden Valley to produce more than one style of Riesling, including Pewsey Vale, Henschke, Hutton Vale, Thorn-Clarke and Chaffey Bros. Even outsiders to the region who buy parcels of Eden Valley fruit from individual grape growers see great merit in releasing more than one expression of Eden Valley Riesling.

‘Each vineyard has such individual personality, that they insist on being handled separately,’ explains winemaker Elena Brooks of Dandelion Vineyards, based in McLaren Vale.

‘Fruit from the Wonderland vineyard, planted in 1912, is super special. It has such purity; you can’t blend it. The Enchanted Garden vineyard produces fruit of a fuller flavour, with less stern acidity and is more immediately approachable. It’s okay for us to have two different styles and celebrate both.’

Producing more than one version of Riesling also has a commercial rationale. Sam and Angus Wardlaw’s Brothers at War label offer a pair of starkly different Rieslings, deliberately designed to appease separate aesthetic and commercial objectives.

‘We love serious Riesling, but that style seems too severe for a big part of the marketplace,’ says Sam, ‘so we also make a fresher, low alcohol, more approachable style of Riesling as well, to introduce a new, younger audience to this grape variety.

‘It’s working, so we get to expand the Riesling fan club a little bit further.’

Eden Valley 2023 Riesling: 15 top wines to try

Related articles

• Australian Riesling: panel tasting results
• German dry Riesling: Panel tasting results
• International Riesling Day: American style