South Australian mother of three Marie Clay has just made a stunning set of affordable white wines.
They include two $20 bottles that may be the best white wine bargains in Australia right now.
And we can thank Ms Clay’s red wine quaffing dad, Andrew Pearce, for that.
She said she was “dragged around” many cellar doors in the Barossa Valley with her father while on his wine buying excursions from their home in Adelaide.
There was always wine on the dinner table, she said.
Her dad also tucked away a Wolf Blass Black Label and Henschke Hill of Grace from the year of her birth and presented them to her on her birthday 21 years later.
“They were amazing. I was taken aback at how well wine can transcend time,” Ms Clay said.
Ms Clay did well at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls high school in Adelaide, and later graduated with first-class honours in oenology at the University of Adelaide.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I left school, but I liked the intrigue of wine. I loved science but I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab,” she said.
“In my second year at university I was fortunate to fall in with winemaker Chillie (Charles) Hargrave in McLaren Vale and after a day with Chillie I was absolutely sold on winemaking.”
The legendary Hargrave was Treasury Wine Estate’s chief sparkling winemaker.
“I can’t image doing anything else now,” said Ms Clay, who has three sons aged 8,12 and 14.
Ms Clay is the senior winemaker at Leo Buring which specialises in riesling. It makes nothing else.
“I am lucky I have beautiful vineyards in the Clare and Eden valleys to work with,” she said.
Ms Clay has become part of this historical romance by sourcing fruit from fabled Quelltaler vineyard in the Clare Valley that was planted in 1863.
“I love riesling. It is a wine that captures a sense of place like no other,” she said.
She talks about the expression of the vineyard and the expression of the vintage.
“I work really hard as a winemaker not to leave my fingerprints on the wine. That takes a lot of focus and attention to detail,” she said.
“Every decision I make in the winery is about letting the vineyard shine.
“I want to protect the purity and elegance of the fruit from the vineyard.”
And so she does.
Leo Buring 2025 Eden Valley Dry Riesling ($20) has white florals and citrus perfumes and a refreshingly clean palate citrus zest granny smith apples with a hint of bath salts.
Leo Buring 2025 Clare Valley Dry Riesling ($20) shows vibrant green hues with a nose of citrus blossoms and lavender.
The palate displays a core of juicy citrus and lemon sherbet.
Riesling aficionados will be wildly delighted as I was with her Leo Buring 2025 Eden Valley Leonay Eden Valley Riesling ($40).
It has layers of flavour pink grapefruit, pastille and lime, complemented with citrus blossom and spring bulb floral nuances.
It was named riesling of the year and scored 98 points in the Halliday wine awards.
The Leonay continued its winning ways this week with three trophies at the Barossa Wine Show where it won Best Riesling, Best White Wine, and Best Single Vineyard Wine.
Ms Clay’s husband Adam Clay makes seriously good red wine under his own Arila Gardens label.
Marie Clay also makes two statuesque rieslings from Tasmanian fruit.
The Leo Buring 2024 Leopold Tasmanian Riesling ($40) was mostly fermented in stainless steel tanks.
A small portion was fermented in a ceramic tulip.
“Parcels were kept separate for maturation on yeast lees before final blending,” Clay said.
“The wine was matured on yeast lees for six months before bottling to create a lovely waxy, soft textural palate.”
Equally impressive is the Leo Buring 2023 Leopold Tasmanian Riesling ($40).
Fruit for both Leopolds was selected from the exceptional W20 block at White Hill vineyard.
Wines like these are some of Australian winemaking’s best kept secrets.
Dining and Cooking