THE FLORITA VINEYARD The Clare Valley’s historic Florita Vineyard at Watervale, originally planted with fortified wine grape varieties, became the source of John Vickery’s exquisite Leo Buring DW series Watervale Rhine Riesling wines of the 1960s and 1970s. Renowned for their capacity to age well, these cold-fermented wines were hugely admired by the wine trade and collectors. These early contemporary Clare Valley Rieslings possessed a purity and precision that transcended almost everything else around at the time. Sealed under cork, many of the surviving bottles have now evolved beyond their best, but their legendary careers at wine shows and stylish modernity defined expectations of Clare Valley Riesling. Lean and tight, pure and simple, they developed extraordinary aromatic complexity and richness of flavour with age; never losing linear crispness or freshness. Under the moniker of ‘Jim Barry The Florita Riesling’, the vineyard is once again enjoying renewed fame and fortune. The story of the Florita Vineyard is fascinating and highlights the extraordinary transition of winemaking styles during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally it was purposed for fortified wine production and planted in 1946 with palomino, pedro ximinez, trebbiano and the versatile ‘workhorse’ — shiraz. It became the source of Leo Buring’s popular ‘Florita’ brand of sherries which enjoyed great success during the 1950s. In 1951 Leo Buring purchased the vineyard to guarantee supply of material. But after the acquisition of Leo Buring’s business in 1962, the vineyard was gradually replanted with riesling, reflecting extraordinary changes in market conditions and a desire by Ray Kidd, Lindeman’s managing director, to compete with Orlando’s ground-breaking Barossa Rieslings. The combination of John Vickery’s disciplined winemaking, new cold fermentation technology, and the happenstance of a great vineyard site established Florita’s legendary reputation. Dr Max Lake, author of Classic Wines of Australia , believed Florita was one of the finest vineyards in Australia. Although Leo Buring Watervale Rieslings enjoyed great fame during its heyday, Lindeman’s offloaded the vineyard in 1986 after struggling against commercial headwinds. The Florita Vineyard was subsequently acquired by Peter, Mark and John Barry, but the Florita brand was excluded from the deal. This
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The Vintage Journal – Verticals
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