Description
Owner and winemaker of Rieslingfreak, John Hughes’ love of Riesling began with a childhood spent in the family vineyard in Penwortham, in the heart of the Clare Valley. In 1998, the family purchased another vineyard in White Hutt, just north of the Clare township, and John’s future was sealed.
John’s father, Richard, was responsible for his early interest in wine, sharing many exceptional aged Clare Valley Rieslings with him, developing John’s liking and appreciation for the grape. As he grew up, John’s interest led him to discover Rieslings from throughout the world, fuelling his passion for the variety even more.
The first vintage of Rieslingfreak was in 2009, with a Clare Valley Riesling. Since then, the label has slowly expanded to include vineyards in Eden Valley and Polish Hill. Together with several traditional dry wines, he also makes Riesling in off dry, Kabinett, fortified and sparkling styles.
“I earned the nickname ‘Riesling Freak’ during my university days, as it was always my beverage of choice. My love of this grape and its enormous diversity of styles has never waned, so when I started my own label, there was really only one thing I could call it.” Hughes said
Rieslingfreak follows the German tradition of classifying each Riesling according to its technical specifications, specifically sugar and alcohol content. Mission is to champion the riesling grape with the philosophy of representing the hallmarks a single region and one iconic style of this particular grape in every bottle, each Rieslingfreak wine is allocated an individual number. This number represents not only the region in which the fruit was grown, but also the style, technical specifications and quality level to which the wine is made. Traditional approach harvesting grapes in the cool of night, fermentation of pristine free run juice only (so no skin contact/grippy phenolics) with cultured yeast and reliable temperature control, bottling early usually mid May to capture as much purity of fruit and freshness as possible to express the site.
2017 was a mammoth year for John Hughes aka Rieslingfreak when he walked away with 5 Trophies from Sydney Royal wine show for his Riesling freak no 3 Clare Riesling 2017. Followed on in June with winning Young Guns of Wine Competition judged by the 11 finalist winemakers who voted him as their winemaker’s choice award. Well deserved recognition for his fabulous wines since his first release in 2009. He holds the bar high as far as quality standards go. In 2011 when he competed in Masterchef and made it through to the final 50 he caused a scene particularly on social media when he refused to present his dishes to judges saying he wasn’t satisfied he’d done well enough. This winemaker applies the same unyielding pursuit of quality to his approach to his stunning Rieslingfreak wines.
About the 2024 vintage from the winemakers: “.. every so often a vintage comes along that raises the quality bar from great to exceptional. When nature provides near perfect growing and ripening conditions. Circumstances enabling we as winemakers working closely with our growers to create universally outstanding wines expressing the full gambit of regional, vineyard and winemaking styles that define our expansive portfolio. 2017 was one such year, which consequently thrust Rieslingfreak into the limelight with our wines winning 5 trophies at the Sydney Wine Show that year.
“In our opinion this year has matched that lofty benchmark. John and I are in total agreement with our appraisal of the 2024 Rieslingfreak wines. Each wine is truly exceptional, and for the first time ever the entire portfolio of Rieslingfreak wines will be produced from a single vintage. We are ecstatic!
“The 2024 vintage is best described as one of distinction, each wine perfectly expressing our winemaking ambitions. With bold aromas and assertive flavours that proudly reflect the unique origin and style of each wine. Across the portfolio we see a consistent theme of abundant natural acidity that imparts exceptional drive, refined structural elegance and texture that will be the hallmark of this vintage.” – Belinda Hughes
About this wine: “Sourced from the Polish Hill River vineyard, situated 5km South-East of the Clare township. The vineyard is owned by Rob and Lyn Jaeschke, who purchased the vineyard from Penfolds in 2010. The vineyard is planted on grey-brown loam based soils, over sandy limestone and shale rock. The Riesling vines are approximately 15 years old, planted on 40 year old root stock. Polish Hill River is renowned for producing Riesling of elegance, and the 2024 No. 2 is the ultimate example of this. The bouquet is highly perfumed with aromas of fresh green apple, jasmine, and lemonbalm with a hints of honeysuckle and fresh linen. The palate is crisp yet silky-soft, with a fine, talc-like minerality imparting a pleasing slipperiness to the texture in the mouth. The bright flavours of Granny Smith apple and yuzu run a fine line between sweet and tart, while the elegant and complex palate is punctuated with bright natural acidity, imparting exceptional length and a clean, crisp finish.”
98 points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion “Polish River-sourced fruit from two picks spaced 10 days apart. Water-white with a flash of green and fruit aromas of freshly squeezed lime juice, makrut lime and lemongrass. Hints of citrus blossom, crushed stone, celery salt, Christmas lily, green-apple sorbet and liminal notes of clover and honeysuckle. Such a sleek, tightly bound package, with a steely focus, porcelain acidity and a pitch-perfect tubular palate shape. It’s lovely saline and sapid drinking now, but this will age beautifully.”
96 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “Full RRP is $37 but I paid $29 and it’s not difficult to find this for sub $30. At that, it’s truly remarkable value. It’s grown on a single block of riesling in this famous Clare Valley sub-region. The quality of this set me back on my heels. It’s intense, penetrating and lengthy. It’s driven by lime and lime leaf, as you’d expect, but there’s also a clear influence of river stones, rind, chalk, tonic and steel. One sip and you’re convinced. This is an elite Australian riesling.”
RRP $37 *Our Special Price $28.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine*
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