Dry River Craighall Riesling 2016

Enjoy now, or hold for a few more years. No need to decant before serving.

Dry River winery was founded by Dr Neil McCallum and soil scientist Dr Neil Milne in 1972, both of whom helped to shape Martinborough Terrace into one of the Wairarapa region’s most important areas. Nowadays, the winery is operated by a focused team of six, who put their efforts into creating a limited amount of excellent quality, age-worthy wines.

Dry River take a low intervention approach to wine-making, allowing nature to take its course as much as possible. The soils of Martinborough are gravelly, dry and drain freely. Growers stress the vines further by removing leaves, resulting in highly concentrated and flavourful fruits. They are harvested from three parcels of land, Dry River Estate, Lovat, and Craighall, the origin of this Riesling.

Lemon and lime intertwine on the nose, accompanied by sweet notes of honey, marmalade and orange zest. Dry River harvest grapes at three different stages of ripeness from the Craighall vineyard. By the final stage, the Riesling fruits are overripe and affected by Botrytis, adding some residual sugar to this off-dry white. It is light-bodied with rich honeysuckle sweetness, elevated by a lively core of citrus fruits. Excellent as an aperitif, with seafood dishes, or served alongside dessert.