In Volume One, Issue Three of OnWine I reported the imminent demise of Leconfield Riesling. Believing I had been informed that by ripping out its last twelve rows of riesling in favour of cabernet sauvignon, Leconfield’s 1996 vintage, labelled as a ‘Commemorative’ edition, was to be its last, I went to press with a tear in the eye. Imagine, if you could, my surprise on unpacking a wine labelled as ‘Leconfield Old Vines Coonawarra Riesling 1997’! Was this the unearthing of a feat of viticulture so remarkable that the rising of the Phoenix pales by comparison? To get onto the phone with marketing manager Darren W. Gall, the appropriateness of whose surname has never been held to question, was for me the work of an instant. ‘When we ripped out the twelve rows of riesling, we never actually said we ripped it all out’, he sniggered. ‘The press sort of suggested it was the last, but we always had twelve rows left.’ I thought it was the press release, but you can’t keep a good marketer down. As for the wine? It’s actually better than its ‘commemorative’ predecessor. Tangy, limey, oily, long and clean, with a touch of sugar at the finish, it sells for around $17. I rate it 17.3 and suggest it be opened immediately or between 2002-2005.
