Karra Yerta Riesling 2010 (Eden Valley, SA)
12.5%, Screwcap, $25
Source: Sample
www.karrayertawines.com.au
This picked up a gold medal over the weekend, which prompted me to pop some in the fridge. Second time I’ve had this actually and it looks even better now with an extra month in the bottle. Definitely an opulent wine this year, but in a very correct fashion. Again excellent stuff. Maybe a little fuller than the 09?
It’s green in the glass this. Water green and neutral looking. But the smell! What wafts out is Eden Riesling perfection. Lots of lime juice, wet pavement and more lime juice in a big, nose-filling dose of Eden awesomeness. Palate is dry and pithy, showing some banana ferment characters, grapefruit and soft (though powerful) acidity. Long. Very long. Interesting to note that ‘soft’ acidity, for I tend to think that Eden and Clare Riesling acidity can sometimes be a little hard and clunky (which I often wonder whether that’s due to injudicious additions). Not this wine.
All in it’s a lovely, powerful, concentrated Riesling in classical form. For mine this is what Eden Valley Riesling is all about, and it’s a style of wine that I absolutely dig.
The glass in front of me appears to be leaking…. 18.7/95
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2 Comments
I often worry that I've got a positive bias with these Karra Yerta wines, given that I count Marie and James Linke (whom run Karra Yerta) as friends, and regard the Flaxmans Valley itself as a particularly great part of the wine world.
Just for clarity then I had a little pre 7am whiff of this Riesling again today, just to check whether I might have got it wrong, with the cold morning light putting everything in a different perspective.
All it did was reconfirm what I tasted last night. Real Riesling, cast in a style that I (personally) very much like, and if you enjoy dry and intense Eden Valley Riesling, then I'll wager you might like this too. That's not an attempt at product advocacy mind you (a Riesling advocacy maybe) but just stating where I sit. It could even be viewed as a blindspot, a vinous soft spot which could actually hinder my objectivity.
Ultimately I just hope that what I do write is honest. It's then up to you to decide whether you believe me.
Thanks, Andrew, for the great review and also for your integrity:) Glad you enjoyed this wine. I think that the extra time in the bottle has made it come together well, too:)