For John Hughes, the attraction to Riesling is all encompassing. Growing up on a small vineyard in the Clare Valley, and going on to work with some of the brightest Riesling makers in the country before launching his own venture, John is never far away from his beloved grape. John makes classic Australian styles from carefully selected vineyards with an emphasis on purity and site reflection, as well as German-inspired expressions that balance acidity and sugar with singular precision.

For John Hughes, the attraction to Riesling is all encompassing. Growing up on a small vineyard in the Clare Valley, and going on to work with some of the brightest Riesling makers in the country before launching his own venture, John is never far away from his beloved grape. John makes classic Australian styles from carefully selected vineyards with an emphasis on purity and site reflection, as well as German-inspired expressions that balance acidity and sugar with singular precision.

The fruit for this wine was sourced from the famous Watervale region off the Castine family Golf House vineyard. A classic dry style of Riesling with provocative lime, lemon and floral aromas. The tantalising citrus flavours on the palate harmonise well with the refreshing acidity, finishing with good length of flavour.

Slight lift on the nose from barrel fermentation and long lees contact; a fitting compliment to the primary fruit by way of strawberry and fresh berry compote. There is a tenderness to this year's wine, the silky tannin-structure is first-rate with just enough back palate weight, by way of stalk use and light French oak, to hold its length. Meadowbank's Riesling vines, mostly Geisenheim 198 clone, were planted in 2005 and, since the arrival of Peter Dredge in 2016, have surely never been put to better use. From 2017 Dredge has rolled out organic practices across all the estate's vineyards allocated for the rebooted Meadowbank label. From the estate's sandy north-facing slopes overlying dark brown coffee rock, this spine-tingling Riesling was hand-picked, whole cluster pressed and naturally fermented in a mix of neutral oak (30%) and stainless tank. Both parcels were matured on their lees for five months before blending and bottling without fining. It's an incisively fresh Riesling offering Tassie Riesling's typical mix of fresh green apple and citrus and an acid spine seamlessly balanced by 8 g/L residual sugar. Meadowbank was first planted in 1974 prior to the purchase of the estate by Gerald and Sue Ellis in 1976. The initial plantings were small, but the business was enthusiastically grown by Gerald into the premium offering that is seen today. Partnering with friend and winemaker Peter Dredge, the next chapter is now being written. Meadowbank is the purest realisation of what our vineyard and Tasmania can offer. Located in the verdant Coal River Valley, north of Hobart in Tasmania, Meadowbank has two estate vineyards spanning over 50 hectares. The primary vineyard sites are at Cambridge and Glenora. Modern winemaking influence is obvious in these well packaged, cleanly made wines. Reflecting their cool climate origins, the winemaking team pick at physiological ripeness to elicit the most natural expression of their fruit.