Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2003

The Grosset Springvale Riesling may sit somewhat in the shadow of its Polish Hill sibling but it is in its own right one of the benchmark rieslings of the Clare Valley. It is renowned for its aromatic complexity, pure fruit flavours and mouth-watering slatey acidity. The wine is fresh and mineral, typified by lemon curd, lime and chamomile aromas and generous flavours. A classic acid cut runs through the core, providing superb line and mineral length. The first vintage of the Grosset Springvale Riesling was produced in 1981.

"Any shortlist of Australia's best rieslings has to include Jeffrey Grosset's superb Clare Valley offerings. With this one you'll enjoy pristine, succulent riesling with lime, nectarine and passionfruit aromas, a light steely touch, and a dry palate of concentrated fruit, counterpointed by a steely backbone."  Huon Hooke & Ralph Kyte-Powell

"The rise and rise of the Grosset Watervale Riesling continues with yet another excellent vintage. The 2003 Watervale Riesling has attractive lime and lemon aromas, is fresh, clean and compact with intense lime juice flavours and some mineral notes, a tight structure, and a powerful, bracing zesty acidity. Like the Polish Hill it is more approachable than the previous vintage but is still a wine that deserves to be cellared. It is multi-layered with impressive concentration, depth and length of flavour. A cracker."  Grosset

Expert reviews

"Typically perfumed, fragrant aromas of ripe guava, mango and citrus fruits with a whiff of stonefruit and lemon zest. Tangy, long and austere, with a rich, juicy palate bursting with vibrant fruit. Underneath lies a slightly phenolic backbone, while racy acids tie it neatly together. Drink 2008-2011+."  Jeremy Oliver, www.onwine.com.au - 96 points

"Any shortlist of Australia's best rieslings has to include Jeffrey Grosset's superb Clare Valley offerings. With this one you'll enjoy pristine, succulent riesling with lime, nectarine and passionfruit aromas, a light steely touch, and a dry palate of concentrated fruit, counterpointed by a steely backbone. Food – sashimi. Ageing – Yes up to 10 years."  Huon Hooke/Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age  ★★★★★

"Are Jeffrey Grosset's wines Australia's best rieslings? Could be. They are Clare Valley classics, relatively expensive but outstanding. The Watervale 2003 has lime, nectarine and passionfruit aromas with a steely touch. The spicy, minerally palate is pure, succulent and fresh, concentrated yet still undeveloped."  Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age Epicure Uncorked  ★★★★★

"Grosset is most reluctant to compare the 2002 and 2003 vintages in quality terms, because the weather (and the resulting style) was so different: the 2002s have exceptional finesse and length, the 2003s amazing mid to back palate flavour and character. But, overall, he says 2002 has to be seen as the one-in-20-year vintage it was, a truly great year. While I do not - could not - disagree, I am bowled over by the 2003 Polish Hill, intense, fine and long, with beautiful acidity and fantastic mouthfeel. The much richer, rounder 2003 Watervale more obviously fits the vintage mould. At the end of the day, it matters not which vintage or which vineyard you prefer. These are great wines made by a master."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points 

Springvale vineyard 

The Grosset Springvale Vineyard is a six‑hectare, organically certified vineyard situated off Springvale Road in the Clare Valley. It is a hilltop site at one of Watervale's highest elevations (460 metres above sea level), with high exposure to sunlight. The vineyard is part of a much larger property at Watervale, however, the balance of the property is being progressively returned to native vegetation as greater species diversity facilitates natural pest and disease management.

The vineyard is relatively close-planted at 2,500 vines per hectare and produces an average of just two-and-a-half bottles of wine per vine. The vineyard comprises three clones of Riesling, Clone GM110 (tight bunches, floral, Germanic and spiced), Clone 156 (rare clone from Jesuit inspiration, loose bunch, mellow, spiced, limes, steely) and Clone GM198 (most commonly used in Australia; spiced, luscious, generous). The sturdy and resilient vines produce compact yellow-green bunches of moderate sized berries.

The Springvale Vineyard is a unique viticultural site due to its geology, relative isolation and high altitude. The thin topsoils are red loams interspersed with shale over limestone and, atypical for this sub-region,  the vines are deeply rooted into slate bedrock. This formation dates back many hundred million years. There is a north-south fault line on the eastern border that limits the vineyard's expansion.

The cool-fermented Grosset Springvale Riesling is renowned for its aromatic complexity, pure fruit flavours and mouth-watering slatey acidity. The wine is fresh and mineral, typified by lemon curd, lime and chamomile aromas and generous flavours. A classic acid cut runs through the core, providing superb line and mineral length.

 The four Grosset estate-owned vineyards

About Jeffrey Grosset

"Jeffrey Grosset wears the unchallenged mantle of Australia's foremost riesling maker. Grosset's pre-eminence is recognised both domestically and internationally."  James Halliday

Grosset was 15 when his father, an electrician, came home with a bottle of wine and shared it with the family. It was riesling and Jeffrey was gobsmacked. So began the Grosset story. The following year Jeffrey enrolled at Roseworthy Agricultural College, completing an Agriculture degree in 1973 and an Oenology degree in 1975. At the age of 21 Jeffrey started work at Seppelt Great Western, before heading to a German winery with a 1000-tonne crush as assistant winemaker, only to find the chosen French winemaker had changed his mind, leaving Grosset in charge. He subsequently returned to Australia and worked at Lindeman's Karadoc winery with its 30,000-tonne crush. But ultimately he wanted to start his own label.

In 1981 Jeffrey purchased an old milk depot in the historic township of Auburn 1981 and established Grosset Wines. He produced four wines that vintage under his own label, 800 dozen bottles in total. Now, 42 years later, Grosset is regarded as arguably the best maker of riesling in Australia and produces nine wines and 11,000 bottles per vintage. 

Grosset is not shy about challenging tradition and questioning accepted practices. In the late 1980s, he was the leader of a successful movement to only allow the use of the word Riesling on Australian wines that were made specifically from the Riesling grape. Until that point, a significant number of Australian wines with Riesling on their label were made from other grape varieties. 

Grosset was also the driving force behind a decision in 2000 by Clare Valley Riesling producers to switch to screwcap closures for their wines and to encourage Australian and New Zealand winemakers to do the same, and for the public, retailers and media to embrace the change. He continues to privately fund research into the subject.

Next, he established the Grosset Gaia Fund, donating to charities supporting youth, the arts and the environment. Recently he has led the way for Australian winemakers to use blockchain technology for verification of product provenance, authenticity and seal integrity.

Jeffrey Grosset has received a great deal of local and international recognition for his winemaking. In 1998, he was the first recipient of "Australian Winemaker of the Year" from Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine and was named the "International Riesling Winemaker of the Year" at the Riesling Summit in Hamburg, Germany. He was nominated in 2005 as one of the world's "50 Most Influential Winemakers" by Wine & Spirits and in 2006, named as one of the "Top 10 White Winemakers" in the world by Decanter magazine. 

Grosset's philosophy has remained steadfast over the years, the emphasis is on purity of fruit. The estate vineyards, which are ACO certified organic, are hand-tended and each bunch of grapes is harvested at optimum ripeness. The winemaking process is gentle and uncomplicated. With dedication, discipline and the application of knowledge garnered through decades of experience, the result is the finest expression of variety and place.