2021 Worlds Apart Wines 'In the Flowers' Riesling
Normally $45, we're offering this at $33 per bottle (the best price in CA!), $30 on 3, and only $27 on a 6-pack (40% off!).
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If Paul Hogan and popular depictions of life in Australia are to be believed, the entire continent can be reduced to a stretch of coastline littered with sun-kissed surfers, backed up to an endless desert and the host of deadly animals found within it. While Australia's beaches are undeniably gorgeous, and yes, the sheer volume of poisonous species of spiders and snakes makes my heart palpitate in fear, those kinds of broad strokes stereotypes mask the abject beauty and diversity of Australia's geography.
Case in point: Well east of Adelaide's white sand beaches, beyond the Barossa Range, lies one of Australia's greatest if somewhat unknown wine regions: the aptly named Eden Valley, a cool-climate paradise perfectly suited to Riesling. At the gateway to the valley sits Pendee Farm, the site from which Louis Schofield of 'Worlds Apart Wines' sources his texturally stunning 'In The Flowers'.
Schofield didn't set out to be a winemaker ("There are enough people making sh*tty wine without me doing it too," he once said). He cut his teeth running high-end retail and fine-dining spots in Adelaide, including the legendary East End Cellars and much lauded Orana, which ignited an affinity for the balance and tension he found in great Burgundy, but one he found sorely lacking in Australian wine.
It wasn't until he formed a friendship with Taras Ochota - the late, great pioneer of natural winemaking - that he realized that Australian wines were capable of striking the same balance, through careful vineyard sourcing, earlier harvests, and thoughtful choices in the cellar. He joined Ochota Barrels as assistant winemaker in 2016 (where he still works today in the wake of Ochota's passing), and soon after, launched Worlds Apart Wines with a clear objective: "We're trying to draw on the best parts of 'natural wine'... to make wine that is pure, vibrant, speaks of place and variety but most importantly is yum.”
The 'In the Flowers' Riesling, sourced from 55+ year old vines, naturally fermented, whole-bunch pressed, and aged in varying sizes of old french barrels, is most certainly "yum". There is a citrus-tinged, mineral-dense character, produced by the quartz-dominant soils and cool-climate of Eden Valley. This profile is well met by the texture and weight that barrel-fermentation and lees stirring provide, with residual sugar in balance, and a very high natural acidity after a long cool ripening season. On the palate, this is pure, fresh Riesling: mixed citrus (grapefruit pulp, wisps of lemon and lime zest) accented by dried herbs and vibrant floral character, with white pepper and salt carrying through the finish.
2021 Worlds Apart Wines 'In the Flowers' Riesling
Normally $45, we're offering this at $33 per bottle (the best price in CA!), $30 on 3, and only $27 on a 6-pack (40% off!).