2018 Grosset Wines Springvale Riesling Clare Valley 750 ml

Clare Valley is the most exciting source for Riesling in all of Australia, and the 2018 Grosset Springvale is one of the best examples that we’ve tasted. Wine Enthusiast crowned it an Editors’ Choice in their 94-point rave, praising its flavors of “lavender, lemon-lime, grapefruit, white peach, and touches of white spice.” James Suckling likewise adored the 2018 Grosset, praising its “fleshy and yet fine style.” For $35 a bottle, you simply won’t see a better example of the variety, in Australia or anywhere else.

And we found it by pure serendipity.

After two days visiting some of the top producers in this picturesque region north of Adelaide, we settled in for lunch at one of those classic Australian restaurants where the fish and meat are grilled to perfection and the vegetables are so fresh they look like they were painted in neon. The sommelier overheard us talking, and figured out pretty quickly that we, too, worked in the wine business.

“If you don’t mind,” she said with a smile, “I’d like to recommend a bottle that’s not on the list.”

We were smart enough to answer yes immediately. As soon as she poured our glasses of the 2018 Grosset Springvale Riesling, the table filled with the aroma of fresh-squeezed limes. And the palate was even more exciting: this was Riesling with enough energy to power the entire Outback for a month.

The next day, we headed to the winery and were greeted by founder Jeffrey Grosset and senior winemaker Brent Treloar, who tasted us on their entire lineup of world-class whites and reds. Yet it was the three single-vineyard Rieslings that stood out as the best in their class, and among them, the Springvale stole the show.

It’s grown on a 15-acre certified organic vineyard 1500 feet above sea level. Grosset focuses exclusively on quality, with each vine producing just two and a half bottles of wine. But while there may not be much to go around—you can’t even buy the 2018 from Grosset anymore!—the results are spectacular.

So when these bottles are gone from Wine Access, the 2018 Grosset Springvale Riesling will be awfully difficult to find again. Frankly, discovering another single-vineyard Riesling this precise and age-worthy for twice the price will be difficult.