Cascabel is a winery that has intrigued me from day one for being that little bit different. Winemakers and owners Duncan Ferguson and Susana Fernandez use very traditional European wine making techniques in their Australian winery to create a fascinating blend of the Old World and New World.

Susana is originally from Madrid, where she did her studies before gaining experience working in wineries in Trentino and Sicily in Italy, Bordeaux in France and Yarra Valley in Australia. After meeting up with Duncan in Australia, she worked with him, making wine in France, Germany and New Zealand.

Duncan studied Oenology at Roseworthy (in South Australia) in the early 90’s and spent several years making wine in Clare Valley before heading off to the Rhône Valley in France, the Mosel region in Germany, and New Zealand.

With all that vast experience, they purchased 5 hectares in McLaren Vale in 1997, and started setting up the winery and vineyards. Cascabel had a definite Spanish influence from the start, with varieties like Tempranillo, Monastrell, Graciano, Grenache and Cariñena making up the majority of the plantings. Spending time in France also encouraged them to plant Roussanne, Viognier, Shiraz and Cinsault. There are plans to plant some Albariño grapes too (music to my ears).

Although not very common in Australia, McLaren Vale is producing top class vintages from the Tempranillo grape, which you’ll be very familiar with thanks to those reds of Rioja. A fairly typical McLaren Vale blend of Grenache, Monstrell and Shiraz is another one of Cascabels specialities, and they produce one of the best Riesling’s to come out of Australia, with grapes sourced from Eden Valley.

This Australian/Spanish alliance has been turning the heads of the worlds most famous wine critics. Jay Miller has scored many of their wines 90 points and above, and James Halliday described them as one of the ten dark horses of Australian wineries, placing them in his prestigious 5 star category. All bias aside, this is one of my top dogs (or horses) as well.

For a taste of Old & New, click here.

Eden Valley and Clare Valley are accredited with producing Australia’s finest Riesling. These are generally dry, medium-bodied, with high acidity and pronounced citrus fruit notes (lime, lemon). As good Rieslings do, they will age well, developing notes of honey and toast. Some may develop smoky aromas, not unlike petrol, but don’t let that put you off.

Although it makes great reds too, Clare Valley’s cool nights help give this area its reputable name, with fantastic growing conditions. Very minerally, again, sometimes with a note of lime, these wines are typically bone dry in youth, developing great toasty notes with age. These are wines designed for food, particularly in their youth as they may seem a little intense at first (again, generally speaking).

Eden Valley is the one that got me taking Australian Riesling to heart.  Situated in the hills on the eastern flank of Barossa Valley (Clare and Eden are the two valleys that make up the official Barossa region), it is not so far from Clare, but its Rieslings are quite different. More floral, juicy and less austere in youth, they also take on a toastiness with bottle age.

So here’s another few regions that’s got to be added to the “must try” list of those avid Riesling fans. I think the most accessible Rieslings are those of the New World. Starting with New Zealand, you should move to Eden & Clare Valley before conquering Alsace and Germany. But then, who ever listens to me anyway?

From our own range, Cascabel produces a world-class Riesling from Eden Valley, achieving 5 stars from renowned wine critic James Halliday.