2023 Werkstatt Riesling Mount Gambier

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2023 Werkstatt Riesling
This is thrilling stuff. Scented with lime, tart grapefruit and wet stone. A small amount of unfermented grape sugar is electrified by the acidity, gifting weight and texture while drying out through the considerably long finish.

  • Producer

    Werkstatt

  • Region

    Mount Gambier

  • RRP

    $32

  • Vintage

    2023

  • Variety/Varieties

    Riesling

  • Alc./Vol.

    10.5%

Bridget Mac’s choice to make a pĂ©t-nat in 2023 due to the cool vintage and intense acidity also saw her opt for a little more balancing residual sugar in her still riesling than her debut vintage (that was from Victoria, though), but it’s easily swallowed by that acid drive. From a cool vintage and a cool region, this is thrilling stuff, scented with lime, tart grapefruit and wet stone. The small amount of unfermented grape sugar is electrified by the acidity, gifting weight and texture while drying out through the considerably long finish.

Tasting note

This sits at 10.5% alcohol with about 17 grams of sugar per litre, but that sugar is perfectly balanced by the intensity of the acid. That kick of sugar also transforms the nose, with the rapier citrus notes of the pĂ©t-nat accompanied with elements of pink grapefruit pith, green apple, makrut lime zest, brine and wet stone. There’s an understandable generosity to the front palate, but that’s mustered into a drilling line with the aforementioned crispness.

Themes of this wine

Riesling

Riesling is one of the world’s most versatile grapes, capable of making styles from aridly dry to lusciously sweet, plus everything in between, and with a transparency that reflects where it was grown like few – if any – other grapes. Hailing from Germany, it’s equally embedded in France and Austria, while the style made famous in the Clare Valley that once defined Australian versions has now been joined by a multitude of expressions, and from right across the country.

Mount Gambier

Mount Gambier is a cool region on South Australia’s south-east coast. It’s part of the Limestone Coast Zone, which also encompasses the wine regions of Mount Benson, Robe, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully and Padthaway. Predictably, limestone is a major geological feature of Mount Gambier, which sits on the gentle slopes of a dormant volcano. With breezes from the Southern Ocean a major feature, the temperate maritime climate is suited to white varieties and cool climate reds.

2023 Werkstatt Riesling

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“One of the highlights of my drinking year.”
— Max Allen, Wine Writer
“The future of wine in Australia.”
— Broadsheet
“The cutting edge of Australian wine.”
— The Australian
2023 Werkstatt Petillant Naturel Riesling
The second release from Werkstatt sees a pét-nat join the roster, and what a vibrantly racy wine it is, rippling with citrus, apple and floral notes and driven by bracing acidity that is cushioned by pulpy texture.

  • Producer

    Werkstatt

  • Region

    Mount Gambier

  • RRP

    $33

  • Vintage

    2023

  • Variety/Varieties

    Riesling

  • Alc./Vol.

    11%

From riesling specialist Bridget Mac, this is her first take on the grape as a pét-nat. That decision to go the bubbly route was informed by the racy drive of both the cool, windswept location (from an organically farmed, though not certified vineyard) and the doubling down of a particularly cool vintage. And what a vibrantly racy wine it is, rippling with citrus, apple and floral notes and driven by bracing acidity that is cushioned by pulpy texture.

Tasting note

This has an agreeable haze to it with a lemony hue, and that citric theme carries through to the nose. More lemon than lime, with crisp barely ripe golden apples, yellow grapefruit pith and white florals. Super zesty and bright the palate is fleshed out with the pithiness of that leesy sediment (it provides the haze), giving mid-palate flex, before a whip crack of acidity drives things home with achingly pleasant mineral dryness.

Themes of this wine

Riesling

Riesling is one of the world’s most versatile grapes, capable of making styles from aridly dry to lusciously sweet, plus everything in between, and with a transparency that reflects where it was grown like few – if any – other grapes. Hailing from Germany, it’s equally embedded in France and Austria, while the style made famous in the Clare Valley that once defined Australian versions has now been joined by a multitude of expressions, and from right across the country.

PĂ©t-nat

PĂ©t-nat is short for ‘pĂ©tillant naturel’, which means naturally sparkling. It’s a relatively modern term for sparkling wine, but it points to an ancient method, often referred to as ‘mĂ©thode ancestrale’. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of alcoholic fermentation, and in these wines, it is captured in the closing stages of fermentation by bottling before the wine is fully dry. The final few degrees take the wine through and create the bubbles. How much depends on how much sugar is left.

Mount Gambier

Mount Gambier is a cool region on South Australia’s south-east coast. It’s part of the Limestone Coast Zone, which also encompasses the wine regions of Mount Benson, Robe, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully and Padthaway. Predictably, limestone is a major geological feature of Mount Gambier, which sits on the gentle slopes of a dormant volcano. With breezes from the Southern Ocean a major feature, the temperate maritime climate is suited to white varieties and cool climate reds.

2023 Werkstatt Petillant Naturel Riesling

GET FIRST ACCESS TO THE NEXT WINE ICONS – DELIVERED

Find out more

Each month, get 3 bottles of our freshest discoveries. We taste thousands to bring you the best.

Join us and support emerging winemakers, sustainable vineyards, and the development of young professionals.

Find out more
“One of the highlights of my drinking year.”
— Max Allen, Wine Writer
“The future of wine in Australia.”
— Broadsheet
“The cutting edge of Australian wine.”
— The Australian
2023 Werkstatt Petillant Naturel Riesling

The Next Wine Icons – Delivered

Each month, get 3 bottles of fresh discoveries.
We taste thousands to bring you the best.

TELL ME MORE

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