Jim Barry The Florita Riesling
‘Florita’ is Spanish for ‘little flower’. Located fifteen kilometres south of Clare township in the tiny village of Watervale, the famous Riesling vineyard was planted to Palamino in 1946 for making Fino Sherry, and replanted to Riesling in 1962. The birthplace of Leo Buring Watervale Riesling, Florita was where legendary winemaker John Vickery sourced his grapes for his great Watervale Rieslings of the 1960s and 1970s. The 80-acre vineyard was sold by globally-owned multi-national company, Linderman’s to brother’s Mark, Peter and John Barry in 1986.
First released as the ‘Florita Riesling’ in 2004 by Jim Barry Wines, this micro-batch Riesling is made from grapes hand-selected from individual rows. Its best fruit comes from vines planted in shallow loamy soils and the vineyard has good air-drainage which alleviates the risk of frost.