Wild & Wilder, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Greco, Fiano, Zibibbo, Riverland, Australia, 2022

Producer Profile

Wild & Wilder is all about good clean fun. Working hand in hand with their merry (in a good season) band of growers, they craft wines of supreme quality but don’t take it all too seriously.

Great fruit, grown by great people and made with a lot of love by people that know that wine is all about the good times, delicious food and creating great memories. Founded by Giles Cooke MW & Fergal Tynan MW, who also make the Thistledown wines, the mundane is just not in their DNA. Being involved in every stage of the winemaking process from bud burst to bottle means that every bottle from Wild & Wilder is an experience you’ll want to try again.

Viticulture

Trellised and spur pruned, minimal irrigation to reduce vigour and some shoot thinning to control yield.

Winemaking

Hand-picked before gentle de-stemming and crushing. Greco & Zibibbo were held on skins for 24 hours. Cool fermented separately followed by maturation on lees.

Oak Ageing

No oak ageing

Tasting Note

Cloud Cuckoo Land is an imaginary state of absurd over optimism – something that all those at Wild & Wilder are often accused of. Indeed, not so long ago, if they had said that we wanted to make high quality, low intervention wines made from Mediterranean varieties in the Riverland, Cloud Cuckoo land is exactly where people would have said that they lived! But, they believe that anything is possible if you don’t see the obstacles, you challenge the “received wisdom” and resist the naysayers. Cloud Cuckoo Land is for everyone who feels the same. A vibrant, textural white with hints of almond blossom, quince and ripe pear. Tangy, almost exotic but pithy and delicious.

Awards

James Suckling 92 Points
This reminds me of the deep Mediterranean and its languorous hillside towns. Dry muscat (aka zibibbo) from old bush vines, like this, the first glass of many long evenings. While fiano (20%) infuses some zip and pungency, this could be so many beautiful things it doesn't really matter. The inspiration is the liquid in the glass and the places that scents of grape spice, orange blossom, ginger, wild fennel and raw almond transport you to across the wine's gentle waft of freshness. Chill and drink with gusto! Is this not the best apero in the country? 92 Points, NG (MW), 2023.