TN: Louisa Rose, Yalumba and their 2000 Eden Valley Riesling

[dlo]

I met Louisa at the Kingston Pub bottle shop one freezing cold Canberra night some years ago and I still recall how good it was to meet someone who was so passionate, amazingly knowledgable, straight down the line and so easy to like for all the right reasons. I’ve taken the liberty of dragging Yalumba’s official take on her background and achievements. Immediately thereafter, you’ll find my note on one of Australia’s finest aged Riesling's - a wine Louisa should be immeasurably proud of creating.

“Louisa Rose grew up and was educated in Melbourne, Australia, spending weekends in the popular wine region Yarra Valley, helping to establish and run the family vineyard – The Rising Vineyard near Yarra Glen. After completing a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in physics, from Melbourne University, she relocated to Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia to study winemaking, and graduated as Dux in 1992.


While studying at Roseworthy, Louisa worked a vintage as a cellar hand at Yalumba in Barossa, and returned to join the team in January 1993. Seventeen vintages later, Louisa has worked alongside many legends of Yalumba, being involved in almost every facet of winemaking and cellar management which led her to accepting the role of chief winemaker, which she quietly stepped into in 2006.


A particular focus for Louisa is the developmental work at Yalumba with Viognier, and the creation of ‘The Virgilius’ Viognier – Yalumba’s pre-eminent white wine. Louisa receives widespread recognition for her work with the variety, which is regularly considered to lead the industry. Her work with Viognier was the catalyst for a visit to the Rhône Valley, in particular Condrieu and Côte Rôtie in December 1999.


In October 2008 Louisa was named ‘Winemaker of the Year’ by the prestigious Gourmet Traveller WINE Magazine – third time lucky following two previous nominations in 2000 and 2005.


“Third time’s the charm for this talented winemaker, who was a well-deserved finalist for this award in both 2000 and 2005. The flair she has shown in her work at Yalumba, plus her painstaking attention to detail and the strength of leadership has led to the production of some of Australia’s finest whites. For the sheer quality of these and much more, Louisa Rose is a worthy Winemaker of the Year.” Peter Forrestal, chairman of Judges


This award was swiftly followed in the same month by the Wolf Blass Award for contribution to the development and promotion of Riesling, which also proudly sits alongside Louisa’s 2004 acknowledgement by International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) as winner of the 2004 Women in Wine Award, and her Barossa Winemaker of the Year Award in 1999.


It is not only her role as Chief Winemaker with Australia’s oldest family owned winemaker which keeps Louisa busy. Commencing as an Australian Wine Show Judge in 1997, Louisa is now heavily involved in judging at both Australian and International Wine Shows, and will be stepping in to the role of Chair of Judges at the Perth Royal Wine Show in September 2009 – the first female winemaker to do so on the Australian National Wine Show circuit. Louisa is also an active committee member of the Barossa Vintage Festival which enables her to work closely alongside her friends and colleagues to promote the Barossa region which is also her home.”


Tasting Note

Yalumba 2000 Eden Valley Hand-Picked Riesling

Barely medium straw colour, this still fresh modern classic dry white exhibits a haunting, complex nose of toast, lime, fennel and a touch of petrol alongside glimpses of honey, apple, beeswax and river pebbles. Almost impossibly, the wine displays considerably more youthfulness in the mouth - incredibly perky with the purest lime and pithy lemon imaginable and wrapped in a profound shroud of minerality, all too rarely found in Australia riesling. The integrated indelible acidity acts as an amazing balancing mechanism lifting the wine to greater heights as it finishes with a refreshing crisp but beguilingly long finish. I’m still experiencing lingering puckering and intense flavour retention in the mouth almost five minutes after swallowing! This exceptional example retains at least a decade of superior drinking, and could quite possibly go for some distance further. 12.5% A/V, screw cap sealed and 95 points on its ear. Bravo!

[Waiters Friend]

A sensational TN, David. I can almost taste it from the description.

[malliemcg]

I find it interesting that it was dlo and a Fritz Haag Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling (LGK) 1983 that got me a) into Riesling and b) encouraged my wife to try (and then get into) Riesling as a variaetal, with tasting notes like that, it's going to be enough to help me stay the course and leave some of what bottles I have (some 08's and 09's) alone for many more years.

Thanks for the TN (and the intro ).

[Chuck]

After enjoying Pewsey Vale rieslings for many yearsI lost interest in the earlier part of the 90's after many dissappointments. But when a tried a '97 by Louisa my faith in the label was restored. She has come a long way and deservedly so.

Carl

[dlo]

After enjoying Pewsey Vale rieslings for many yearsI lost interest in the earlier part of the 90's after many dissappointments. But when a tried a '97 by Louisa my faith in the label was restored. She has come a long way and deservedly so.

Carl

The 2010 Pewsey Vale is a corker.

[daz]

After enjoying Pewsey Vale rieslings for many yearsI lost interest in the earlier part of the 90's after many dissappointments. But when a tried a '97 by Louisa my faith in the label was restored. She has come a long way and deservedly so.

Carl

The 2010 Pewsey Vale is a corker.

I thought it was screwcapped these days!

[Waiters Friend]

[The 2010 Pewsey Vale is a corker.

Fully agree, David. Possibly the best for 6-7 years