Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling Clare Valley 2024

Region and Vineyards

The Clare Valley, in South Australia, is celebrated as one of the world's foremost Riesling regions. While Watervale and Polish Hill are renowned for their dry, steely styles, Auburn, situated lower in the valley at 340 metres, provides a slightly warmer mesoclimate. This difference makes it ideally suited to producing luscious, concentrated dessert wines.

The Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Vineyard lies adjacent to the historic Auburn Railway Station, which now houses the estate's cellar door. Exclusively planted to Riesling, it is certified organic and biodynamic, reflecting a philosophy of sustainability and integrity. The warmer conditions of the site encourage flavour concentration, while careful vineyard management ensures fruit purity and balance, essential for a style that depends entirely on natural processes.

Winemaking

The name "Cordon Cut" refers to a daring technique pioneered in Australia, where the vine canes are cut once the grapes reach full ripeness. By severing the canes from nutrient supply while leaving the clusters attached, the grapes gradually dehydrate and raisin on the vine. This concentrates natural sugars, acidity, and flavours in a process that requires both skill and intuition.

Harvest is determined not by numbers but by visual cues, taste, and Stephanie Toole's experience with this delicate method. The result is fruit of remarkable richness and intensity, vinified to balance luscious sweetness (138 g/L residual sugar) with refreshing acidity (7.8 g/L). The wine is bottled under screwcap, ensuring purity and longevity, with an alcohol level of 11.6%.

Tasting Notes

• Color: Bright light gold, with youthful luminosity that will deepen over time.
• Aroma: Expressive and refined, with layers of honeyed citrus, mandarin peel, kumquat, and subtle vanilla spice.
• Palate: Rich and luscious, yet finely balanced, offering juicy citrus fruits, candied orange, and honey, lifted by mouthwatering acidity. The finish is crisp, elegant, and long.

Did you know?

The cordon cut technique used here is rare and risky, pioneered in Australia to create dessert wines of great concentration without relying on botrytis. It is so labour-intensive and unpredictable that very few producers attempt it regularly.

Wine Pairing Ideas

• Crème brûlée - The caramelised sugar notes echo the wine's honeyed character while acidity cuts the richness.
• Spiced apple tart - Citrus zest and acidity refresh the buttery pastry and sweet apple.
• Blue cheese - The wine's sweetness softens the intensity of salty, pungent cheese.
• Foie gras terrine - The luscious texture of the wine complements the richness of foie gras, while acidity refreshes the palate.

History of Mount Horrocks

Stephanie Toole purchased Mount Horrocks in 1993, bringing a laser-focused, quality-first philosophy to this boutique project. In April 1998 she restored and reopened the historic Auburn Railway Station as the cellar door—now a beloved landmark for visitors travelling the Riesling Trail.

Over subsequent vintages she consolidated estate holdings and refined the range, matching varieties to specific sites and farming with increasing ecological ambition. By the mid-2010s the vineyards achieved organic certification, and they are now farmed biodynamically—an approach visible in the precision and textural detail of the wines.

In 2024 Toole was recognised as a Clare Valley "Legend", underscoring her long-term influence on the region's modern, terroir-driven identity.

Region and Vineyards

Mount Horrocks sits in South Australia's Clare Valley, a warm region moderated by afternoon breezes and notably cool nights. Vineyards are typically 300-500 m (with peaks above 570 m), delivering slow, even ripening and vivid natural acidity—especially for Riesling. Soils vary from limestone-rich red loams (Watervale) to broken slate (Polish Hill River), shaping markedly different expressions.

The estate farms multiple, carefully matched sites around Auburn and Watervale. The Alexander Vineyard in Watervale (planted solely to Shiraz/Syrah) sits near 475-480 m; a separate Watervale block grows Riesling, Semillon, Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon; and a dedicated site near the cellar door supplies the emblematic Cordon Cut Riesling. Total holdings are small (circa 10 ha), underpinning the winery's limited production ethos.

Wine Range of Mount Horrocks

The portfolio is compact and site-specific:

• Whites centre on Watervale Riesling (dry, line-driven and ageworthy) and Semillon (textural, often barrel-influenced), while the sweet Cordon Cut Riesling is a benchmark of its style.
• Reds include a fragrant, mid-weight Alexander Vineyard Shiraz and a vibrant Nero d'Avola—one of the Clare Valley's early plantings of the Sicilian grape—alongside a classic Cabernet Sauvignon.

All wines are estate grown, hand-picked and bottled under screwcap for longevity.

Did you know?

Mount Horrocks' Cordon Cut Riesling is made by physically cutting the vine canes once grapes are ripe, leaving bunches to desiccate naturally on the cordon. This controlled passerillage concentrates flavour while preserving Clare's hallmark acidity—an Australian classic pioneered and perfected at the estate.