2002 Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling

Leo Buring was one of the early pioneers of the Australian wine industry. The son of German immigrants, Leo was born in South Australia in 1876. After completing an Oenology course at Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1896, he then gained practical experience in Europe before returning to Australia in 1902 to work at Michinbury. A highly skilled winemaker, Leo was often described as “Australia’s Ambassador for Wine” because he was one of the first to export Australian wines as far back as the early 1900’s.

Leo finally achieved his dream at the age of 68 when he bought the Orange Grove Winery at Tanunda, in the Barossa Valley, which he re-named, ‘Chateau Leonay’. Since this time the label Leo Buring has established an international reputation as one of Australia’s leading Riesling producers. 2002 was an outstanding Riesling vintage for the Clare & Eden Valley regions. Summer was cooler than average, before a late warm, dry autumn. The lack of extreme heat allowed the grapes to ripen slowly without stress, resulting in fruit of exceptional quality.

Tasting Note: This is an outstanding Riesling. The fruit for this wine was processed in small batches to minimise oxidation and fermented in stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures. Bright pale straw colour. Superb aromatic nose. Lifted aroma of lanolin, pear, spice, lime and rose petal. The palate is impressive with excellent depth and persistence of flavour. Flavours of lime and lemon are followed by unripe pear and counter pointed by a crisp acid background. Very long aftertaste of lime, citrus and spice.
Cellar 4-5 years. (2006-2007)
Alc.Vol 12.5%