Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Riesling 2019

"Rob Diletti has a reputation for making great Riesling. He is a superstar."  Erin Larkin

Castle Rock Estate is an exceptionally beautifully sited vineyard on a 55ha property, set high in the Porongurup Ranges, operated by the Diletti family. The elevation, 300 metres, and the position of the vineyard, which exposes the vines to cooling south-east breezes, enable varieties like Riesling, which are heat sensitive and early to ripen, to develop maximum varietal flavour and ripeness while maintaining natural acidity and balance.

"This Riesling is pure and has a laser focus, even to the aromatics on the nose. The palate has a length of flavour that pushes up the eyebrows further and further. Rob Diletti has a reputation for making great Riesling, and if you would like to know what that's all about – buy this wine. It will tell you what you need to know. He is a superstar."  Erin Larkin

"The Castle Rock Estate Riesling is our flagship wine that captures the pure fruit expression of our unique site along the Porongurup Range. It is a blend of the 6 Riesling blocks planted on our site, each with their own unique flavour profiles that contribute to the wines' overall layered complexity. The wine consists of 100% free run juice, creating elegance and finesse due to the minimal phenolic pick-up from the skins during pressing. It is fermented cool in stainless steel tanks with minimal winemaking influence to highlight the fruit definition and quality attained in the vineyard. A short maturation time before bottling ensures that the freshness of our Rieslings is captured in bottling for immediate enjoyment. This creates a Riesling with a clean acid structure, elegant palate and fresh flavours of citrus and florals. Fine and delicate as a young wine, yet will age gracefully for 20+ years."  Castle Rock Estate

"Rob Diletti's excellent palate and sensitive winemaking mark Castle Rock as one of the superstars of WA."  James Halliday 

Expert reviews

"Excellent flow, weight, flavour and length. Purity is arguably the key but aromatics and texture are also of real note here. Flavour, it just sings on. Drink by: 2034."  Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"The nose has lime, crushed slate and citrus blossom with lifted jasmine notes. The palate has a litheness if acidity and chalky texture with a build of ginger and lime infused with citrus blossom. The mineral edge has an almost saline note before the expansive finish focuses on citrus. A stellar release of what is one of the best value and consistent in Australia."  Patrick Eckel, The Wine Reviewer – 96 points

"Floral, fine gorgeous. There is a savoury succulence here this is truly fabulous. VALUE.  Love it. Tasting the Porongurup fruit is like coming home."  Erin Larkin, erinlarkin.com.au – 95 points 

"This Riesling is pure and has a laser focus, even to the aromatics on the nose. Everything is done on needlepoint, the fine citrus characters are unbelievably specific: lime, lemon, florals, white spice and minerality. The palate is exactly this, with a length of flavour that pushes up the eyebrows further and further. Rob Diletti has a reputation for making great Riesling, and if you would like to know what that's all about – buy this wine. It will tell you what you need to know. He is a superstar."  Erin Larkin, erinlarkin.com.au

"A bright and intense yellow in the glass. The nose is equally intense, lemon pith and flesh, ripest grapefruit. A wine of tremendous drive, lime essence carries the palate, pure and pristine. Will live for quite some time. Drink: 2020-2030."  Nick Butler, The Real Review - 95 points

"Super classy stuff. Get on board! Superb Riesling here from the Great Southern region. There's a tension which draws you in before a focused line of fruit and well balanced acidity keeps you mind in the game all the way. Delicate scents and a mouth full of green apples, lime juice and sizzling chalky finish. Brilliant drinking for the money."  Steve Leszczynski, Qwine - 95 points

"Castle Rock Estate winemaker Rob Diletti is something of a riesling specialist. This is one of three rieslings in the current range and is absolutely outstanding both in terms of quality and value-for-money. The Great Southern in Western Australia is a region that can compete with any in Australia in regard to riesling quality and potential longevity. Pale, but intense, this still quite tightly wound in its youth with lime and grapefruit juice notes to the fore. It has terrific structure and fresh zingy acid on the finish and is lip-smackingly good right now. Pair it with pan-fried."  Winsor Dobbin

"Beautifully floral and citrusy on the nose, limes for me here and fresh as fresh thing for sure.  The palate has delicate yet intense flavours of the 'Riesling regulars' such as lemons (but more so) limes with lovely acidity riding alongside.  It's sort of minerally but not overly so which, for me is a good thing because I like to see the juicy fruit and acid shine with Rieslings which they do in this wine.  To top it all off, it has a terrific, moreishly dry, lively, inviting and long finish.  A gorgeous Riesling. This will be a sell out!"  Tony Peters, Words from a Wine Glass

Awards

Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★ 

Porongurup

The Great Southern wine region of Western Australia is the most ancient, most isolated and largest wine region in the world. The region is up to 2.8 billion years old and covers over 1.7 million hectares, a whopping 200 kilometres from east to west and 100km from north to south. Since the Nyittiny – creation times – our First Nations people of the Wagyl Kaip region have shared and cared for this Great Southern country.

Great Southern time is a place of dramatic contrasts - striking tall timber forests, swathes of rich agricultural land, imposing mountain ranges, dramatic peaks and ancient rivers. Due to its vast size and spread, it features not only different terroirs but climates that vary from the Mediterranean through to the maritime, resulting in unique wines that reflect their natural surroundings. From this diversity a wine region of international significance and reputation has emerged – the pristine Great Southern wine region.

The region is divided into five distinct sub-regions, each producing wine styles that reflect their unique terroir. The sub-regions are Porongurup, Frankland River, Mount Barker, Denmark and Albany - refer to the map below.

Porongurup sub-region

Porongurup is a very small wine district just east of Mount Barker and 40km north of Albany. It is named after the oldest mountain range in the world, the Porongurups, a group of domed granite peaks whose formation dates back many millions of years to the Precambrian age. 

The sub-region encompasses the entire 12km long Porongurup Range, whose peaks reach a height of 670 meters at the Devil's Slide and are visible from any vineyard in the region. Today around 10 vineyards bask on the sunny northern slopes of these ancient hills.

Porongurup's climate is mostly Mediterranean with cool to mild winters and sunny and warm summers. With a mean January temperature of just 19 degrees Celsius, it has an extended ripening season, with grapes harvested in mid-March through to May. The regular sea breeze which blows inland on hot summer afternoons also contributes to the extended growing season.

Due to its aspect and height above sea level, the sub-region boasts a special climatic feature, a nocturnal thermal zone created by warm air rising above the denser cold air sliding down the hillsides and settling on the valley floor. The conditions produced from this air drainage are ideal for ripening and reduce the risk of frost. 

Wine grape production in the Porongurup began in 1978 with plantings of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by more plantings in 1979 and 1983. Today there are also plantings of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz, as the Porongurup’s reputation as a producer of distinctive cool climate wines continues to grow. 

Porongurup can produce standout Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Shiraz, but it is Riesling that is undoubtedly the star of the show, the conditions being ideal for producing riesling of exquisite precision and drive.
 

Porongurup is one of the five sub-regions of Great Southern

The winemaker

Rob Diletti is the winemaking son of Castle Rock Estate founders Angelo and Wendy Diletti. During his formative years Rob worked in the family's vineyard, developing a keen interest in grape-growing. After graduating from Charles Sturt University with a Wine Science degree, Rob gained winemaking experience at Mountadam Wines, Grosset Wines, Plantagenet Wines, Jean Grenier in Alsace, and Alkoomi Wines prior to returning home to Castle Rock Estate.

In 2001 he co-designed the Castle Rock Estate winery, a 200-tonne winery set within the family's vineyards. Soon after taking over the winemaking, Rob was recognised for the quality of the wines he made. These accolades include the Tony Smith Scholarship, Young Achiever of the Year (Wine Industry Association of Western Australia), Young Winemaker of the Year (Wine Selectors) and was named the inaugural Winemaker of the Year in James Halliday's Wine Companion in 2015.

"Rob Diletti has a reputation for making great Riesling. He is a superstar."  Erin Larkin

"Rob Diletti is highly intelligent and modest. He was the recipient of the inaugural Winemaker of the Year Award in my 2015 Wine Companion. His superb palate and sensitive winemaking mark Castle Rock as one of the superstars of WA. The countless trophies and gold medals leave no doubt about Diletti's skills."  James Halliday

The winery

Castle Rock Estate is an exceptionally beautifully sited vineyard on a 55ha property, set high in the Porongurup Ranges, operated by the Diletti family. The elevation, 300 metres, and the position of the vineyard, which exposes the vines to cooling south-east breezes, enable varieties like Riesling and Pinot Noir (which are heat sensitive and early to ripen) to develop maximum varietal flavour and ripeness while maintaining natural acidity and balance.

Angelo and Wendy Diletti purchased the property in 1981 to grow premium quality table-wine grapes. The first varieties, Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, were planted in 1983. Those first two hectares were followed in 1986 with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and further plantings of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. Later plantings included more Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay, plus Sauvignon Blanc, Gerwurztraminer and the first and only plantings (so far) of Grüner Veltliner in the Porongurup wine region.

"The easterly aspect, in my opinion, has turned out to be what makes our site so unique. We get the early morning sun and not the hot afternoon sun, the prevailing wind in Summer is an easterly. In most of WA it is hot, but for us, it comes off the bight, so is a cooling sea breeze, and although we are only 300m above sea level, the surrounding land is low and flat, so I believe that the way the easterly is uplifted as it hits the Porongurups is important too."  Rob Diletti, Winemaker