Bethany Late Harvest Riesling - Dessert, Fortifieds & Sparkling 750mL (Case of 12)

Bethany Late Harvest Riesling - Dessert, Fortifieds & Sparkling 750mL

Vintage Comments
For us in the Barossa Valley, and more specifically for our little patch of dirt on the Eastern ridge of the Barossa Foothills, the weather conditions this year were just about perfect; warm ripening days, cool nights, a couple of splashes of rain in January and February, and a wonderful Indian summer through March and April allowing long, slow ripening of the grapes.  The upshot is that the fruit we harvested was perfectly ripe, with balanced fruit flavours, good natural acidity, lovely purity of expression and balanced sugar levels.  All this means one thing – great wines!  From our first pick on 19th February (Semillon) to our last pick on 25th April (Mataro) we were over the moon with the results.

Winemaker's Report
Traditional Australian dessert style table wine. This wine had no skin contact, with settled for two days. The wine was fermented slowly for eight days at 12-15 degrees with selected yeasts to preserve varietal fruit aromatics.  The result is a sweet dessert style, luscious but balanced by acidity.

Vineyard Notes
The Riesling grapes are sourced from our Schrapel family vineyards planted on the contours below the Bethany Cellar Door.  The vines are 40 years old, and are hand pruned to a bud count of 50 buds per vine to limit yields, typically 2.5 tonne/ha.

Two weeks prior to harvest, the fruiting canes or cordons are hand pruned to sever the cordons from the mother vine.  The grapes dehydrate in the sun to be picked 2 weeks later.