A botrytis outbreak in parts of Block 8 provided the opportunity to make a sweeter style Riesling. The botrytis affected bunches in Block 8 were hand-picked on 12 March and provided 40% of the batch that was topped up with machine picked clean fruit from Block 7. They were macerated together for a few hours to allow some of the botrytis character to be extracted, prior to destemming and must chilling to tank press. This was carefully pressed with no press cut, and the juice was kept under dry ice for cold settling. The batch was fermented slowly at cool temperatures and on 4 April the ferment was stopped by rapidly chilling down to freezing. It then sat on lees for the next 10 weeks, prior to clarification and bottling (no finings).
The Eden Hall 2022 Opulence is pale straw in colour with a perfumed nose of rose water and jasmine. The palate is dominated by Pink Lady apples over marmalade and citrus showing a deft balance of fruit sweetness and acidity with a clean finish. A wine of complex origins, that will develop even greater complexity and richness over time. Best drunk chilled as an aperitif, or with spicy Asian foods, or at the end with desserts and cheeses – a wine for all occasions! Ready to drink now, but will reward with cellaring.
Single Vineyard, Eden Valley Wines of elegance and finesse