Castle Rock Estate has released its 2020 vintage wines: 2020 Castle Rock Estate ‘Porongurup’ Riesling,  2020 Castle Rock Estate ‘Porongurup’ Chardonnay and the 2018 Castle Rock Estate ‘Great Southern’ Shiraz.

While 2020 will long be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also one of the best vintages on record for the Porongurup wine region in the Great Southern Region.  

“There was an air of uncertainly across the wine industry,” said Castle Rock Estate winemaker Rob Diletti. “Nonetheless, we tackled vintage as we usually do, with the grapes looking particularly good. The volumes were lower than average, but the quality is fantastic.”

The 2020 vintage was Diletti’s 20th vintage at the family-owned estate. His experience in wineries across Australia and overseas includes working at Mountadam Wines, Grosset, Plantagenet, Alkoomi and Jean Grenier in Alsace. 

Diletti has received a number of winemaking awards, including being named 2015 Wine Companion Winemaker of the Year. He was also a finalist in the 2019 Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine Winemaker of the Year awards. Diletti has judged at many of Australia’s leading wine shows, most recently at Sydney Royal Wine Show, Margaret River Wine Show and Perth Royal Wine Show.

“Judging Australian wine shows gives you an excellent insight into the current trends in winemaking,” he explained. “Great Southern and Porongurup has a special affinity with Riesling, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinot Noir, so being able to constantly taste and discuss these varieties with other winemakers is invaluable. I can then use this knowledge in the vineyard and winery to constantly refine and tweak our processes, hopefully to ensure a continual improvement in the quality of our wines.”

The 2020 wines show the region’s famed vibrancy. The Riesling shows its natural acidity and fruit purity with its minerality, talc and ability to cellar, while the 2020 Chardonnay was fermented in seasoned French oak with the objective of creating balance between the fruit vibrancy and the mealy, oak complexity.

2020 Castle Rock Riesling (Porongurup),  $25; 2020 Castle Rock Chardonnay (Porongurup), $25; 2018 Castle Rock Shiraz (Great Southern),  $34.

Read more from Wine Pilot about Castle Rock wines here.

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