2022 Castle Rock Estate Riesling

96 Points “2022 was a warm but excellent vintage in Western Australia, and in the heartland of great Riesling, the Great Southern, winemaker Rob Diletti toils away making consistently great, precise, focused (and value-for-money) Rieslings. They speak of Porongurup in their soft floral aromatics and talc-y acidity in the mouth, and they achieve that hard-to-do thing: great on release, great in a decade too. Anyway, the 2022 Porongurup Riesling is so typical of Porongurup (my favorite subregion in the Great Southern for Riesling) that it brings a smile to the face. In the mouth, the wine is layered with green apple, chalk, jasmine florals, white tea and finger lime parcels. On the mid-palate, this focused wine changes tack and splays out through the back palate and lingering finish with concentrated flavor. It’s a beautiful wine. One of the best.” Robert Parker Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin

96 Points “Rob Diletti continues to make excellent wines over in the far West and none better than his Rieslings. This is from the Porongurup sub-region and is an exquisite example of what those distant vineyards can offer. Pale straw in colour, we have a pristine nose with citrus and limes plus a hint of grapefruit pith, florals and river stone notes, with a taut minerally backing. Balance, poise, focus, intensity, persistence and serious length with a fine line of acidity running the full length. Brilliant stuff. A wine which will provide as much pleasure today as it will in ten to twelve years, though it has everything in place to go for much longer. If this doesn’t thrill you then it is time you gave up on Riesling.” Ken Gargett, Winepilot

95 Points “Such a fine nose: lime skin, lime leaf, fresh white blossom with richer green pear, fly spray, quartzy white rocks, and wild fennel. Intensity and purity hold equal top billing while the textural, structural body provides a frame for a long lived life. Feels religious in its offering.” Vinonotebook, Regan Drew

95 Points “Pristine and penetrative, with an alluring fragrance of lime juice, white peach, green apple skin and lavender backed by a whiff of mineral. It’s long and focused, with vivacious lime and lemon flavours driving with purity and focus towards a dry, schisty finish of mouthwatering acidity. Enjoy now or much later – it’s your call! Drink 2034-2042.” Jeremy Oliver, Nov 2022

93 Points “Bright and crystalline lemon tints through the glass. Papaya and pink grapefruit aromas. Palate has good concentration of grapefruit and green papaya with a bracing acidity that accentuates a slaty minerality. Good length and it has a lift of sweetness into the finish that balances out the acidity well” The Real Review, Nov 2022

93 Points “A flagship wine of the Castle Rock Estate brand bringing together six Riesling blocks across the Porongurup range. Fermented in cool stainless steel tanks to highlight their rallying cry ‘Fruit is King’. Josephine pear skin, kaffir lime leaves and white acacia blossoms stand tall with a hint of galangal root. The wine is smart and snappy on the palate with a flavour intensity like a freight train. Plenty to love about this wine and, for Riesling nerds, this is a gem of a wine. Drink with plump oysters with a well made mignonette and you’ll feel like royalty.” Shanteh Wale, Winepilot

92 Points “The original Castle Rock Riesling and always impressive. Overflowing with grapefruit intensity this vintage, but I see this as just a bit more forward than the norm. The bright and crisp green melon citrus palate is such pleasant upfront drinking, though. Enjoyable.” OZ Wine Review, Andrew Graham, Mar 2023

90+ Points “This is a fascinating wine that carries an interesting mix of serious acidity and raw power thanks to the warm and dry Summer. It’s quite exotic with punchy yuzu and lemon aromas that are already quite expressive with that typical Porongurup purity in spades. It then descends into more pithy flavours and stony minerality with an almost muscular palate feel before a long, juicy finish accented by stony complexity. Plenty of raw power here that will settle with some time in bottle.” Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot, Sept 2022

“Castle Rock Estate 2022 Porongurup Riesling – an exciting wine with vibrant fresh citrus bouquet, intense lime & lemon flavours on the delightful palate, which has great length & a refreshing finish. WILL AGE MAGNIFICENTLY!!” Dan Traucki, Wine Assist, Sept 2022

“This flagship wine is a blend of all six Riesling blocks and while it is fresh and lively now, it’s likely to still be looking good in a couple of decades. Like all good-looking sorts, it will probably even improve with age. It has a beautiful depth and purity of flavour, with green apple, lime and lemon notes, a little bit of floral and a lot of zesty minerality. With enticing kaffir lime and lemongrass aromas, it would pair nicely with Asian, fish and prawn dishes.” PS News, Christine Salins

★★★★★ “If you enjoy limey, dry, intense rieslings with lip-smacking acidity -and we do – don’t miss this one. It’s outstanding. Great drinking now with deep-fried seafood, but it will age brilliantly.” Winewise Magazine, Sept 2022

“There would be no hiding my emotions when tasting these wines in front of my friends. I have dimples and I reckon, after the first taste of each of these wines, they would look like craters! There’s no hiding the exceptional quality, there’s no hiding the amazing value and there’s no way I’ll be hiding my excitement. These two Rieslings are Aces in any pack and my advice, hold’em, don’t fold’em. They are definitely worth betting on. The aromas are just beautiful! It’s a little floral but so citrusy and minerally and fresh and so delightfully attractive. Spend as long as you like taking in the aromas…I did. Intensely flavoursome on the palate it seems to keep on giving all the freshness and vivaciousness you’d expect from the citrusy characteristics of such a youthful expression of the variety. Limes, lemon sherbet, lovely distinct yet fine acidity and incredible length. Terrific!” Tony Peters, Words from a Wineglass, Nov 2022