Clare Valley Tasting Report: An Evolution Toward Purity and Precision

The 2024 vintage in Clare Valley, Australia, promises to be a sterling year for riesling, emphasizing the region's reputation for producing exceptional bottlings of the variety that embody the essence of the valley's unique terroir and rival some of the great German rieslings, particularly with age.

I recently returned from the Clare Valley, where I tasted 107 wines from a region that exhibits both stylistic clarity and seasonal contrast. The 2024 vintage rieslings stood apart from the 2023 and 2022 bottlings for their purity and precision, capturing the region's hallmark freshness with a delicate structure and electric drive, which was highlighted across the two main subregions where they are made: Watervale and Polish Hill River.

Clare Valley, which is about 120 kilometers north of Adelaide in South Australia, is famous for its elevated vineyards, cool nights and dry summers – ideal conditions for producing Australia's most renowned, structured and ageworthy rieslings. The diverse soils and climates of Clare Valley, alongside vineyards situated at 320 and 570 meters above sea level, translate to distinct subregional identities.

My first impression of the 2024 vintage in Clare Valley is that it’s one for aging due to the structure and acidity of the rieslings produced, although with early drinking accessibility.Pikes winemaker Steve Baraglia echoed this, stating that the 2024 vintage was “much like the 2017 harvest – with a cooler, later growing season that brings wines of purity and freshness, which has yielded whites with remarkable precision, fine acidity and vibrant fruit purity.”

There was a noticeable stylistic difference between Clare Valley’s two main subregions of Watervale and Polish Hill River. This was clear when tasting the Jim Barry Riesling Clare Valley Watervale 2024, which showcased the classically expressive Watervale aromas of tangerine, white flowers, citrus and chalk.

The palate is light-bodied with a racy acidity and a nicely weighted mouthfeel that brings a lovely balance of freshness and texture.

In contrast, the classic Polish Hill River drive and precision was enhanced by the cooler vintage. The Pikes Riesling Clare Valley The Merle 2024, which is grown exclusively on Polish Hill River slate soils, bringing very linear and refined notes of kaffir lime, apple blossom, slate, lemon zest and nectarine. The palate is highly strung with energy and tension, giving a citric and mineral finish with steely precision.

Riesling has unique winemaking protocols and can be far less labor-intensive and extended when compared with other varieties, in particular when it comes to yield and journey into the bottle. Yet there is no hiding its delicate nature.

Typically, winemakers get “around 500 liters of free-run juice at pressing per metric ton of extraction,” said Tom Barry, the third-generation winemaker at Jim Barry Wines. This is racked to tank and fermented in stainless steel, then guided into bottle via filtration and under screwcap closure within nine months of picking. So how does this affect and separate the main difference between Watervale and Polish Hills River? The answer is soil type expression.

Watervale’s limestone-rich soils – specifically red loam over limestone (terra rossa) – are central to the subregion’s expressive wine style. The limestone base reflects sunlight and retains warmth, aiding even ripening while contributing to the lifted aromatics, vibrant citrus flavors and early approachability. In contrast, Polish Hill River rieslings sit on shallow, slate and shale-based soils over bedrock, which are low in fertility and drain quickly. This results in low-yielding vines that produce concentrated, tightly wound fruit. They are typically more restrained and mineral-driven in youth, with firm acidity and a steely, almost austere edge.

Now that traditional protocols and styles have been established, who is challenging the established norms of early bottling, low extraction and aging?  Certain producers, particularly Jim Barry Wines and Koerner, are implementing unique approaches such as extended aging in larger, alternative vessels like ceramics and foudres.

They also occasionally encourage malolactic fermentation and phenolic ripeness. Jim Barry, led by brothers Sam and Tom Barry, are notably influenced by Ernie Loosen's winemaking techniques. Ernst “Ernie” Loosen is the owner and winemaker of Weingut Dr. Loosen, a prestigious estate in the Mosel Valley renowned for producing world-class rieslings.

The partnership led Loosen to investigate the potential of riesling in Clare Valley, which led to the creation of Wolta Wolta, a foudre-fermented riesling sourced from the estate's latest ripening vineyard – and the one “with the most power and phenolic content,” Barry said.

The Loosen Barry Riesling Clare Valley Wolta Wolta 2022 has an interesting balance of Germanic-style riesling mixed with the Clare Valley's mineral edge. The 2022 is high tension with racy acidity and an energetic mouthfeel that has a lovely texture and a reductive edge, bringing notes of slate, phosphorus, salt brine and white flowers with a slight phenolic edge.

Damon Koerner of Koerner wine, meanwhile, is releasing two wines that specify the soil type upon which they are planted instead of stating the vineyard on the label.

“I always saw the difference in site expression and soil type, and so I felt putting that on the label is helping people understand the key difference between slate and limestone,” Koerner said.

He uses alternative methods to further extend the boundaries of riesling winemaking. His Koerner Riesling Clare Valley Old Vine Limestone 2024 is planted on thin red clay loma, with all limestone underneath. It is then aged in ceramic amphora, which enhances the limestone and mineral edge coming from vines planted in 1973.

In contrast, the Koerner Riesling Clare Valley Old Vine Slate 2024 comes from one of the oldest riesling vineyards in Australia, Parish, which was first planted on slate in 1923. He chooses not to use alternative vessels but keeps the wine on fine lees for 15 months before bottling, letting the old-vine material shine.

Winemaking and soil types aside, Clare Valley does one other thing with its rieslings that make them so unique – it ages them. Many producers, including Paulett Wines, Jim Barry and Pikes, warehouse large amounts of wine for late-bottle releases. This is a significant investment for producers, but the rewards are worth it, according to Matt Paulett, the operations manager for Paulett Wines

“The time in bottle, particularly for Polish Hill River wines, brings a roundedness and textural complexity that adds to the linear freshness and transforms these bright and energetic wines into serious food wines with immense power,” he said.

The Barrys hold back up to 50,000 bottles a year across four wines to release at 10 years of age – and it pays off. The Jim Barry Riesling Clare Valley The Florita 2015 has started to show the classic aged notes of lemon butter, gunsmoke and toast with a textural and rounded finish that is cut through with energetic and linear acidity, and it still has youth on its side.

Clare Valley is not solely known for riesling, although that’s primarily where its reputation lies. It is also recognized for midweight, structured and ageworthy reds. Something that is not discussed as much outside Australia is the old-vine material for reds being cultivated in Clare Valley, particularly for shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, with touches of malbec and grenache.

Adelina winemaker Col McBride, whose approximately four hectares sit directly opposite the historic 1893 plantings at Wendouree, is doing just that. McBride has shiraz and grenache vines that were planted in 1915 and 1940, respectively, which he meticulously farms himself before crafting into wines of excellence and purity. The Adelina Shiraz Clare Valley 2023 displays the classical midweighted Clare Valley palate with supple tannins and bright acidity, offering notes of damson plum, dark chocolate, earth and cedar, supported by a perfumed and dark-fruited aroma.

The 2024 vintage, meanwhile, confirms Clare Valley’s enduring strengths. Precision, structure and ageability remain the defining features, but a new generation of winemakers has added layers of texture, site expression and innovation.

Clare Valley’s foundation in tradition is strong, but its willingness to evolve ensures its place among Australia’s most important wine regions.

– Ryan Montgomery, Associate Editor

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the tasters at JamesSuckling.com. Note: You can sort the wines below by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.