Two new flagship Castle Rock Estate wines have been released, comprising the 2021 Castle Rock Estate ‘A&W’ Riesling and Pinot Noir. These reserve wines are named in honour of Angelo and Wendy Diletti, the founders of Castle Rock Estate.
Riesling and Pinot Noir are two varieties recognised for their ability to convey terroir due to their delicate but structured nature. “We believe that our site is quite unique, and therefore these two varieties are ideal in showcasing our terroir,” says owner and winemaker Rob Diletti.
“The elevation and the position of the vineyard, which exposes the vines to cooling south-east breezes results in a prolonged growing season. This enables our Riesling and Pinot Noir, which are varieties that are heat sensitive and early to ripen, to develop maximum varietal flavour and ripeness while maintaining natural acidity and balance.”
The new wines have also undergone an upgrade in their packaging, better reflecting their reserve status and limited availability within the Castle Rock Estate stable of wines.
“We aim for these ‘A&W’ wines to showcase the best fruit from the vineyard. The 2022 Castle Rock Estate ‘A&W’ Riesling is made from grapes from our oldest block of Riesling, dating back to the first planting in 1983.
“We only use free run juice for this wine, with the fruit being handpicked, then whole bunch pressed, resulting in even less phenolic extraction from the grape skins. This provides fine delicate juice of exceptional quality, with prominent acid structure, a supple mid-palate weight and lifted aromatics.
“Cool fermentation preserves the fruit expression, followed by extended lees contact during five months of maturation to build texture to complement the pristine Riesling fruit. This is a wine that can be enjoyed in its youth but is made for long term cellaring.”
Its stable mate is a wine that is new to the brand. “This new 2021 ‘A&W’ Pinot Noir is also made from estate fruit; sourced primarily from our 1986 vineyard. Fermentation comprised 25% whole bunch, with maturation in French oak (19% new oak) on medium lees for ten months.
“The 2021 vintage in the Porongurup Wine Region was characterised by an excellent growing season, with rain prior to vintage followed by warm ripening conditions yielding average crop levels of long-lived elegant white wines and outstanding red wines. This is certainly reflected in our new Pinot Noir.”