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.

Rieslingfreak No.5, like No.3 is made from the family vineyard, but with the grapes harvested from a vineyard with lighter soils therefore providing a lighter style of wine. The  grapes are harvested earlier in the season, to provide a wine that is slightly less in alcohol. Being ‘off dry’ the sugar level can vary each vintage, pending on the season, normally between 11-15g/L. The sugar is balanced nicely with the acid, providing a fruit driven style with a hint of sweetness. The wine drinks well on release, or will reward with cellaring.

I'm a sucker for a good off-dry riesling (here, it's 13g/L RS), and this certainly ticks a lot of boxes for me. The palest of straw and green flashes in the glass with fruit tones of lime, green apple, white peach and crunchy nectarine. Hints of citrus blossom, riverstone, wildflowers, starfruit and apple sorbet. There's a real tension to this wine, a pressure-like interplay between RS and acidity that releases with a long, purely fruited draw on the finish, seeming drier than you'd expect as the acidity tempers that gentle sweetness beautifully. Bravo. Date: Jul 2024; Alcohol: 10.1%; Price: $28.00; Drink by: 2036; Rating: 96 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion