Grosset `Polish Hill` Riesling 1995 (3 x 750mL), Clare Valley, SA.

Tasting Notes

Grosset Wines is an independently owned winery producing seven highly regarded premium wines each vintage.

Established in 1981, the winery is situated in the historic township of Auburn at the southern tip of the Clare Valley, 100 kilometres north of Adelaide.

While in its third decade, annual production is capped at 12,000 cases (dozens), predominantly produced from twenty two hectares of estate vineyards. Remaining small and focused has allowed Grosset to preserve the character and individuality of the wines, developing a significant international profile by producing wines deemed consistently outstanding, benchmarks in their class.

The Vineyard

The Grosset Polish Hill vineyard is situated in a U-shaped ridge formation running north from Mount Horrocks. The soil is shaley, not especially fertile, and slightly acid, and the topsoil crust is of clay and shale. The Polish Hill vineyard does not have Springvale’s air of abundance. On the contrary, the vines are smaller, working harder to draw sustenance from the less generous soil, and berries are smaller and more concentrated than those of Springvale. In comparison to Springvale Riesling, Polish Hill is more austere, leaner, reflecting the nature of the terrain that Jeffrey Grosset, with his usual attention to geological constraints and possibilities, chose as his spot in the Polish Hill River area.

Commercial vineyards first appeared in this sub-region during the 1890s, declined again until the 1970s and then came with a rush in the 1980s. The release of the first Grosset Polish Hill riesling coincided with this great flowering of winemaking in the area.