2022 Greywacke Riesling

Full screwcapped bottle 1,201 g. Organically farmed grapes from Ashmore Vineyard in Fairhall, adjacent to the mouth of the Brancott Valley, on gravelly clay-loam soils. Conditions are more typical of the Southern Valleys than the Wairau Plains. 26-year-old BioGro certified vineyard. Hand-picked on the morning of 5 April. Grapes were whole-bunch pressed using a very low-maceration press cycle and the resulting juice was cold-settled, then racked to fermentation vessels. Half of the juice was inoculated in stainless steel using cultured yeast and the balance was filled into old French oak barriques, where it underwent spontaneous fermentation. Towards the end of fermentation, all the wine was transferred to stainless steel, where the fermentation was stopped, retaining 19 g/l residual sugar. The blended wine was filled into old barrels, where it remained on yeast lees for a further five months, prior to bottling in late January 2023. pH 2.98, TA 7.6 g/l. Complex aroma of lime fruit tempered by a fumy-herbal note that I associate with spontaneously fermented Riesling and a wine with a little bottle age. Still also has underlying clementine notes. Intensely citrusy on the palate – ripe lemon and clementine – very slightly honeyed and with excellent balance between high acidity and that bit of residual sugar, which also gives a silky texture and richness. Persistent finish. Lovely now but should continue to age for several years thanks to the inherent balance. (JH)