SmithCullam Riesling
2012 SmithCullam Riesling
John Lewis - Newcastle Herald
"From Western Australia's Frankland River area, this fine riesling is named in honour of Frankland's founders Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam, the parents of managing director Hunter Smith. Vibrant kiwifruit flavour shows on the front palate and the middle palate adds lime zest, sherbet and subtle leatherwood honey characters."
02/03/2013
2012 SmithCullam Riesling
Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age - Uncorked
"The estate's top wine toys with sweetness, yet it has flinty, savoury appeal, enhanced via old oak. Lime-sherbet characters have a steely backbone, peachy depth, vibrant flavour and a long finish."
26/03/2013
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
The West Weekend Ray Jordan
"This hand-picked wine made from a block of 20-year-old Geisenheim clone riesling is an off-dry style with a small amount of balanced residual sugar. The fruit intensity and the fine acid retain the focus and never allow it to be considered too sweet. It has a lovely mouth feel and persistence, with a clean purity that is most appealing. Perfect with chilli crab. "
18-19/02/2012
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
Gary Walsh - The Wine Front - www.winefront.com.au
"Has a dab of residual sugar (from memory around 15g/L) to soften that Great Southern blow. Works to great effect. Fresh cut Granny Smith apple, lime, gentle spice and talc and zingy, almost electric, citrus acidity and pulpy pith texture and flavour. Theres mineral and subtle petrol notes and an interesting savoury dimension thats not found so often in local Riesling. Bright and long squeezed lemon finish. Quite tart but so zing zingy and energetic. Different and extremely good. "
1/03/2012
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
The Weekend Australian Magazine - James Halliday
"Light, positive straw green; made it off-dry mode, with 19g/l of residual sugar. Just when you think this is merely another Mosel copycat, the astonishing drive and intensity of the palate makes the half-formed words describing the bouquet completely irrelevant. It has perfect line, length and balance. A worthy flagship for Frankland Estate."
04/03/2012
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
Jane Faulkner - The Age
"DRY riesling goes well with roast pork, but those with residual sugar - as in a German kabinett-style - are better. Trust me. Frankland Estates flagship riesling - SmithCullam - is a case in point. On its own, a really beautiful drink, a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity that turns it into a more complex and textural wine. It's quite savoury, although there are citrus notes, a chalky, wet-pebble complexity, then a long finish. Extraordinary, with at least another decade ahead of it. Drink with rolled pork loin stuffed with prunes."
12 May 2012
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
Mike Bennie The Wine Front
"Smoky aromas overlaid on lemon/lime cordial. Lots of detail here. Sandalwood spice, touch of bathroom talc, lavender. Pretty. Soft in texture, pillowy almost, great natural flavour of fruit with citrus and apples, but then a orange zest acidity to freshen things up and a fine, steely finish. A lot of individuality here."
25-05-2012
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
James Halliday - Australian Wine Companion 2013
"Light, positive straw-green; made in off-dry mode, with 19 g/l of residual sugar. Just when you think this is merely another Mosel copycat, the astonishing drive and intensity of the palate makes the half-formed words describing the bouquet completely irrelevant. It demonstrates how great riesling (more than any other variety with the possible exception of semillion) is made in the vineyard."
2011 SmithCullam Riesling
www.eRoberParker.com - Lisa Perrotti-Brown
"The 2011 Riesling is a more earthy, savoury style of riesling giving herbal and crushed stone notes over hints of apple, fresh pears and bread. Light-bodied and crisp in the mouth, it has a great core of apple and pear flavours with a detectable touch of residual sugar and a very long finish. Approachable now, it should cellar to 2020+. "
August 2012
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
"Rarely do I find Australian off-dry styles (this has around 27g/L) successful, but heres one that hits the nail on the head. Its Germanic in style, but Australian too. I had a couple of glasses with Alaskan king crab dressed with lime mayonnaise and phwwwoooarr it was good, not that I am one to make too much of a fuss of food and wine matching. Hint of sulphide, flint, juicy lime and green mango, crunchy green apple and the barest suggestion of petrol (as a positive mineral element). Offers a gently textured mouth-feel where a strong spine of minerally acid is neatly offset and calmed by a perfectly measured dose of residual sugar. Theres a little bit of spice in the mix too, for added charm and interest. It flows along beautifully and feels clean and refreshing, especially so on the finish. Delicious. All that. "
Jan 31 2011
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
Louise Radman The Adelaide Magazine
"An exotic beauty in classic kabinett style. Heady rose-petal and patchouli perfume, a sensual palate of sweet lime, cassia and lemon drops. Splendid opulence, acid balance and mouth-watering minerality from Isolation Ridge vineyard."
March 2011
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
Nick Stock Sydney Morning Herald/The Melbourne Age Good Wiine Guide
"It is an unexpected surprise, but given Frankland Estate is behind this, it should not be too great of an awakening. What we have here is Australias shining beacon of off-dry Riesling - This is a triumph. Fresh and lively on the nose, there are sparkling minerals and citrus, pith, peel and juice, lime and fresh peeled apples, a complex fragrance. The palate is seamlessly stretched along a playful acid/sugar exchange: it is full of pure and lively lime and apple flavour, with some hints of white peach and a meticulously shaped fade. Very long and stays bright. Really superb."
2012
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
Australian Wine Companion - James Halliday
"Tightly wound and pure lemon pith and lime bouquet, with accents of coriander and ginger; the palate reveals fresh-cut green apples, and the delicate touch of sweetness plays a perfect foil to the rapier-like acidity coiled beneath; long, supple and most definitely age worthy."
2012
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
Australian Financial Review
"Pure and piercing lime peel in here, but also something more primal: wet slate. And a sort of pure pork fat character that is found in much top-quality sweeter riesling. The palate is fabulous, full of crisp sweet pear and apple textures and flavours. This is delicate and sweet sapid, while the acid interleaves with the gentle sugar beautifully. This Frankland Estate Smith Cullam riesling is the finest example of the style I have tasted from Australia."
05/04/2012
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
James Halliday - Australian Wine Companion
"Tightly wound and pure lemon pith and lime bouquet, with accents of coriander and ginger; the palate reveals fresh-cut green apples, and the delicate touch of sweetness plays a perfect foil to the rapier-like acidity coiled beneath; long, supple and most definitely age worthy."
2012
2010 SmithCullam Riesling
Jancis Robinson - www.jancisrobinson.com
"Very pale straw. Florally aromatic. Smelssa as though it is very light bodied. Just a sprinkle of sugar and very juicy/salivatory. Still very youthful and I think it would probably be a shame to drink it now. Delicate, feather light. As though it still has a considerable tertiary development to do. RS 19.8g/l."
13 March 2012
2008 SmithCullam Riesling
Gourmet Traveller Wine - Australian Whites
"The fragrance is captivating: elusive and subtle, with a mineral delicacy. The palate is on the sweeter side but it is softer and less mouth-watering than some. It has soft but refreshing acidity. Lovely wine. "
2009
2008 SmithCullam Riesling
Josh Raynolds/Steve Tanzer - International Wine Cellar
"(27 grams of residual sugar) Pale green-gold. Highly aromatic bouquet of lime, lemon custard, melon and musky mango skin. Sappy and energetic, offering lively citrus and exotic fruit flavors and a subtle underpinning of minerality. Round and supple on the finish, leaving behind tangy, refreshingly bitter citrus zest notes. This would go well with Thai seafood dishes. "
Spet/Oct 2009
2008 SmithCullam Riesling
Tyson Stelzer - Clear About Wine
"Frankland Estate is the home of Western Australias finest Riesling. Inspired by the great Rieslings of Germany and Austria featured at the Estates Biannual International Riesling Tasting, this is a completely new take on Frankland Riesling. An off-dry style, wild-yeast fermented in large, old oak vats prior to ageing on lees. The result is richly flavoured with mandarin, ginger and baked apple fruit which finds impeccable balance between its sweetness and its finely structured acidity. "
May 2010
2008 SmithCullam Riesling
Angus Hughson The Australian Wish Magazine
"Part of the growing trend towards a more Germanic style of riesling with balanced sweetness, this is a complex multi-layered wine with floral fruit given some attractive palate richness by ferment in old French oak. Subtle sweetness is matched by bracing acidity, making for a refreshing and more-ish package."
November 2010