O'Leary Walker Wines was established in 2000 by winemakers David O'Leary and Nick Walker. With over twenty five years experience and established reputations making premium wine with the big companies, these two long time friends decided to take control of their own destiny and craft small batches of wine from some of the best vineyard sites in South Australia. With a great leap of faith they are now doing exactly what they set out to.
"The 20th vintage and what a cracker it was in Clare. This is distinctly finer and more delicate than the Watervale wine from this vintage. It really reflects this outstanding area. Has a pronounced bath salts minerality with a little lime character. Very long and precise and ideal for current drinking or for the cellar." Rating: 96 Points; Ray Jordan; The West Australian.
I was all set to make the 2020 O'Leary Walker Watervale Riesling my wine of the week; having loved its freshness and clarity. I thought I'd better try its big brother first and viola: the best-value premium Clare Valley riesling shines again with its tightness, brightness and grapefruit citrus notes alongside chalky minerality. There is purity here, crisp acid on the finish and the wine is organically grown and made. If I had a case of this it would be gone before summer makes its bow. Price: $28.00; Rating: 95 Points; Winsor Dobbin; Wine of the Week.
Riesling from the River, the Polish Hill River. There isn’t a great deal of difference between this and the Watervale save for the fact that the flavour profile here sits on the pebblier side of the equation. It’s like river stones in a stream of citrus and sorbet. It still has fruit, it still pushes, it goes towards pulp, it goes towards texture. It feels both taut and as if it’s itching not to be; it’s itching to get out and run. Alcohol: 12.5%; Price: $28; Closure: Screwcap; Drink: 2021-2027+; Rated: 94 Points; Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front.
