Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2013

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.

"Classic Clare Valley riesling, made by a master of attention to detail from immaculately tended vines in an excellent vintage. Light straw-green; it doesn't have the sheer elegance of the Polish Hill, but has exceptional power, intensity and length."  James Halliday

"The 2013 Grosset Springvale Riesling shows some lime zest and lime blossom aromatics but there's more restraint than usual, almost a shyness. The palate has intense lime juice flavour, a hint of lemon and more pronounced savoury minerality, schisty, shaley character than previous years. It's tight, yet finely structured, with a taut, crisp, chalky minerality adding length to the ultra-dry finish. While this may be difficult to confirm, these intriguing qualities could be a reflection of the vines maturing, and the roots reaching the shale and slate below the limestone. This is an increasingly complex and serious riesling."  Grosset

Expert reviews

"Extraordinary. This is one of the best. Lean, long and dry. Enormous length and intriguing aftertaste. Subtle, refined and long. Exquisite aftertaste. Perfect."  John Jens – 18.8/20 points

"Classic Clare Valley riesling, made by a master of attention to detail from immaculately tended vines in an excellent vintage. Light straw-green; it doesn't have the sheer elegance of the Polish Hill, but has exceptional power, intensity and length. Drink by 2035."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion – 96 points

"Though the 2012 vintage was touted as one of Grosset's best, it looks as though 2013 will be equally impressive. More textural than recent Springvales with white flowers, lime concentrate and wet slate. Seriously powerful, but never oppressive, chalky, zesty and finely balanced. Drink 2013-2021."  Jeremy Oliver – 95 points

"Very light colour; backward in every respect. The aromas are tight and ungiving at this stage. Fresh straw-like scents, a hint of yeastiness, taut and nervy, and tightly bound. It doesn't show as much overt lime citrus character as its sibling Polish Hill in 2013. The palate is restrained, taut and very dry, with a slight puckering touch of phenolic grip. Good length and line. This needs time and will mature superbly. Drink: 2015–2025."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 94 points

"Good intensity on the palate. Apples and lemon zest. Rosewater and lime. Alcohol seems to be rising from it. Texture is good. The apple notes almost feel a little cidery at this early stage. Generous fragrance, up and about. Finish is spritzy, limey, yeasty. Excellent persistence. It's not an absolute "great” Grosset Springvale but it is clearly a very good one. Drink: 2012 - 2022+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 93 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.