Dead Man Walking Riesling / 2025 / 750mL

Dead Man Walking 2025 Riesling from the Eden Valley is a taut, dry Riesling built on lime, green apple and wet-stone minerality. Bone dry and brightly acidic, it drinks well now but has the structure to reward a few years in the cellar.

The bouquet opens with fresh lime zest and lemon blossom, backed by white nectarine, green apple skin and a faint waft of jasmine. There's a chalky, almost flinty edge underneath that speaks to the Eden Valley's ancient soils and cool elevation, along with the subtle talc and citrus pith character that tends to emerge in the region's better Rieslings.

On the palate it's lean and linear, with a clean line of natural acidity carrying flavours of lemon curd, Granny Smith apple and grapefruit. The 2025 vintage shows lovely mid-palate concentration without any weight or sweetness, finishing long, dry and faintly saline. Aromatics stay lifted and delicate thanks to cool-climate fruit and careful, low-intervention winemaking, and the crisp finish makes it a versatile food wine rather than a one-glass proposition.

Serve it well chilled, around 8 to 10 degrees, alongside Sydney rock oysters, salt and pepper squid, steamed snapper with ginger and shallots, or a plate of prosciutto and goat's cheese. It's equally at home with Thai and Vietnamese dishes, where the acidity cuts through chilli, lime and fish sauce. Cellar for five to ten years if you enjoy the honeyed, kerosene-tinged complexity that mature Eden Valley Riesling develops.