Simon Pemberton Pearce 2004 Riesling

WHAT I POSTED 29th APRIL 2008
A sales rep rang us late last year about a West Australian Riesling she had to shift. She was clearly quite excited about it so we looked forward to the tasting bottle. We chilled it down, unscrewed the cap, poured, sniffed, tasted and immediately rang her to order a pallet. Five minutes later we tasted it again, rang her back and ordered another pallet. Half an hour later we rang her back to check out how much was left - we ordered another 32 dozen.
We still have a few dozen of one of the best buys we've ever offered. Not simply because of the price because if it was $20 I'd still rave but I know we wouldn't sell so much.

This is actually an Arrowfield label which looks like it's now defunct. I also suspect it could be a repackage of the old Arrowfield Show Reserve Riesling as that too came from WA and no longer appears on their price list. The actual label is fairly naff but the stuff inside is sensational.
The fruit is Great Southern and if you think along the lines of the Alkoomi style you'll know exactly what it tastes like. There's a crisp acidity which guarantees a longer term cellaring option but it's the limey minerality that will keep you reaching for the glass. In fact it's all about its lip-smacking moreishness that I now write with some experience of.
12% a/v
RRP: $15+
Our Price: $10 per bottle

THE BACK LABEL
"For the love of the challenge; Simon, Pemberton and Pearce, Arrowfield's winemaking team got together to make an innovative, bold statement with fruit, flavour and regionality in their new range of wines. Riesling brought from Western Australia's Great Southern was Simon McMillan's challenge, completed with finesse! It produces flavours of lime and apple, which with bottle age Simon predicts will develop toast, orange and apricot nuances. Finishes long and crisp."

SIX YEARS ON
24th May 2014
Cleaning out the cellar I came across the last bottle and I can assure you Simon's prediction was a whole lot better than the back label punctuation. It had evolved gloriously, retaining a lively zing that married harmoniously with the bottle age development. The wine was in perfect condition, still with plenty of cellar life and was a real tribute to the merits of the screwcap.