This is a story of Riesling…

Loosen Barry. Two family names evocative of great Riesling and they appear on a fine selection of labels.  

Jim Barry winery is a family winery in Australia’s Clare Valley currently in the custodianship of Peter Barry. Peter’s children Tom, Sam and Olivia are integral parts of the family business as it continues to grow from strength to strength. The family are an innovative bunch starting with Jim Barry’s legacy to Australian wine. 

However, this relationship with Loosen is based on Peter’s long friendship with Ernst Loosen of Dr Loosen fame. 

Without a doubt, Ernst Loosen is one of Germany’s eminent winemakers. He is the current custodian of the Loosen estate with vineyards along the Mosel. Ernie is also an innovator. And the boundaries of his own region have proven to be no boundary to that innovation. 

Of course, the connection between the two families for Loosen Barry is Riesling. 

Not just Riesling though, but some of the best Rieslings in the world. 

So, it is no wonder that this team up works so well. It is not the only collaborative wine range that that Loosen has created. He also has a joint wine brand with the winemaker from Chateau Ste Michelle, Katie Nelson, Eroica. A Washington Riesling range with a German accent. He also owns a vineyard in Chehalem Mountains AVA in Oregon. 

This is a little different though. With the Loosen Barry range, the wines are made in the style each partner has become beloved for. Meaning the Slate Hill has been made using the techniques that Loosen uses for some of his wines in the Mosel region of Germany. 

Loosen’s Mosel legacy

Ernie Loosen had a vision from the start of his custodianship of the family wine business that he wanted to make great German Rieslings. Apparently, a book by Dr. Karl Christoffel is one place to start. There Loosen discovered that it was not unusual to barrel age Riesling wines in large ‘Fuder’. These Fuder (Foudre in French) are very large wooden barrels. Winemakers will treasure these for years and they will not deliver strong oak character to the wines that mature there. 

Christoffel pointed out that there were once Rieslings who spent up to 30 years in Fuder from ferment. This means that these wines stay in contact with their lees all this time. However, the wines do not undergo ‘battonage’ meaning no stirring of the lees. By maturing in large old Fuder without battonage, neither the oak nor the lees has dominance over the fruit. The aim is that the fruit will always shine brightly in the wine.

Ernie’s father described his own father’s techniques. This included fermenting the Rieslings in Fuder and maturing there for at least two years without battonage. The best wines could mature there for up to 8 years. 

This is now the standard for Dr Loosen’s best wines. Unsurprisingly, it is this wine making technique that is Loosen’s contribution to the Loosen Barry wines. 

The Jim Barry vineyards

Originally the large estate in the Clare Valley was known as ‘Wolta Wolta’. Wolta Wolta is the aboriginal term for ‘good water’. When the Barry family bought this estate, part of the estate was bought by Jim Barry – Lodge Hill. The remaining smaller portion was purchased by Jim’s brother, Brian. Brian named his portion ‘Spring Farm’. 

Now decades later, Spring Farm and Lodge Hill are together again. The Wolta Wolta estate is now under ‘Spring Farm’ name and has three distinct vineyard areas.  The Spring Farm vineyards were planted in 1977. They are higher altitude vineyards with not only plantings of Riesling, but also Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec.  

Some of Spring Farm Rieslings are cellar releases. Such as the Spring Farm Block 144 Riesling with 10+ years cellar before release. The Wolta Wolta Riesling comes from Block 18. The altitude and aspect of these vineyards give a cooler climate appeal. This keeps the wines natural acid levels fresh and crisp. A perfect combination for Riesling.  

Soils, aspect and altitude 

The Spring Farm vineyards have a range of soils over a base of calcium rich siltstone. Many Riesling lovers know the success of the Clare Valley Rieslings is largely due to these calcium rich soils. Aspect is also important for the Riesling vineyards on Spring Farm. The vineyards face south which means that they do not receive full sun exposure all day. The grapes receive full sun in the mornings. Conversely, the red wine vineyards face north giving them the long, warm days they need to ripen.

Being at a slightly higher altitude does mean that the vineyards are cooler. This cooler temperature gives the grapes longer to ripen. Longer ripening times not only gives grape more time to develop character and sugars. The cool nights pause the ripening process to keep acid higher in the grapes.

The Loosen Barry range

Currently, there are three wines in the Loosen Barry range. The two wines produced by the Barry family in the Loosen style – Slate Hill Dry Riesling and Wolta Wolta. Obviously, these are Clare Valley wines. Then there is the German version made by Loosen with the influence of the Jim Barry style.  

Below are the two Clare Valley wines:

Loosen Barry Slate Hill Dry Riesling

This is an excellent fresh and very elegantly poised Riesling. The wine spends two years in content with its lees in chilled tanks. It is a drier style of Riesling with a fuller body and a silky texture. It is floral with citrus, stone fruit and some lemon verbena highlighting a silky textured wine.  

For the full review for Loosen Barry Slate Hill Dry Riesling, click here. 

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Loosen Barry Wolta Wolta Riesling

If you want to understand the versatility of the Riesling grape, this is the one to seek out. With its oak fermentation and maturation, it explores both terroir and winemaking skill. 

The result is a honeyed citrus and peach fruit wine with a minerality and spice that pulls it all together. A fuller bodied white wine with a finely tuned balance. It is a long cellar dweller candidate too. 

For the full review for Loosen Barry Wolta Wolta Riesling, click here. 

That is not all….

Incidentally, these Rieslings are not the first innovative white wines the Barry family produce. The family also introduced Assyrtiko to Australian vineyards... and a fine addition it makes too.

Please click here to read a review for Jim Barry Assyrtiko. 

See jimbarry for more information.

This was also published on winemusing.substack.