The Leasingham winery was, we understand, the first to be established in South Australia’s Clare Valley. Set in the folds of the Mount Lofty Ranges 140 kilometres north of Adelaide, it sits at an altitude of 1000 feet above sea level, with cool nights, warm days, and low rainfall. In 1893 a group of South Australian professionals and businessmen founded The Stanley Wine Company at Clare Valley and there today, Leasingham’s 1000 acres of vineyards provide the fruit that enables Leasingham to produce some excellent regional wines that have received awards both in Australia and more widely.

We tried the Leasingham Magnus Riesling recently. This is an excellent, very pale, white that’s great to drink either on its own or with food. As you pour the wine and lift it to your nose you get clean grassy and delicate floral notes, giving the impression that it’s quite light, but nothing could be further from the truth. On the palate we tasted bold citrus and green grape flavours; it has a lovely acidity that leaves a tingle, almost effervescence on the tongue. The Leasingham Magnus Riesling has some body and character to it and a good depth of flavour that has length on the tongue. Having tried it on its own we had a glass with what we planned to eat that evening, boiled gammon with sautéed mixed vegetables and asparagus and it held up really well with this plate of food, cutting through it, including the buttery sautéed vegetables, giving the palate a crisp clean zingy freshness.

The Leasingham Magnus Riesling would go well with the usual suspects, fish and white meat dishes, including those with rich sauces, but it’s sufficiently bold to stand up to something a little more challenging like our gammon. It’s a wine that’s certainly worth checking out.

If you wish to try this lovely wine for yourself you can find the Leasingham Magnus Riesling 2009 at Sainsburys, Somerfield, Ocado, Bretby Wines, Eagle Wines and Wines of Distinction, priced around the £8.25 mark. This is a wine I am very happy to recommend.