EDEN VALLEY
SUMMARY BY TONY LOVE
The Eden Valley is calling. It’s a distinct Geographically Indicated region to its more famous Barossa Valley GI, which covers the floor and eastern and western ridges of the region, both falling under the greater zonal device as the Barossa. But Eden Valley stands tall for all the right reasons. The difference between the two regions is that Eden Valley rises in the east to higher altitudes, and therefore experiences cooler nights in summer and early autumn, which temper ripening, preserve natural acidity, and extend and enhance fruit flavours in its key Riesling and Shiraz varieties, both the hard-working flag-bearers of the district. The environment here is dramatic in its distinctive, toughened Australian manner, marked by impressive gum trees and rocky outcrops, the stoic landscape struggling to keep up its nutrients, thirsty for local ground and surface water, as there is no additional supply from the River Murray. Rolling hills, sloping vales, and varying aspects and exposures make for a complex terrain, soils featuring iron and quartz gravels amongst sand and clay layers; many growers and winemakers associate these with a unique minerality in the region’s wines. Which leads us to the crop of 2025 Rieslings that feature in this year’s Guide . Numbers at our annual tasting of the region’s signature white were down on last year, and the overall style was arguably a little different from the 2024 vintage, which was remarkably floral and fragrant. Rieslingfreak’s Belinda Hughes suggests this is because 2025 was a “uniquely challenging Riesling vintage”. The lead up, she commented, was notable for 2024 being the driest year on record in South Australia, as well as one of the warmest overall. A significant Spring frost event caused severe damage to early growth, but in many cases, vines bounced back with a secondary budburst, the resulting crop not surprisingly smaller than what the initial one had promised. Belinda’s seasonal reflections were reiterated by Max & Me winemaker Phil Lehman. His 2024 rainfall records could only be described in his own words as a “horror lead-in to the 24/25 growing season”, followed by the “absolute horror of December–April 2025, with only 20mm total for these five months, covering all the
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The Vintage Journal
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