Dry River Riesling

2021 Dry River Craighall Riesling

Dry River Riesling, dry style, is about chasing purity, transparency and a tension between acidity, sugar and texture. We still chase a long fermentation for added mouthfeel, but in stainless steel tanks to maintain the fresh and crisp characters.

Cellar for up to ten years. Serving suggestion: 8 – 12C, serve with white fish ceviche, grilled salmon or barbecued chicken.

The aromatics are plenty and varied. Citrus flowers, lime and lemon zest, with riper honeysuckle, pear and nectarine. There are also unexpected, more herbal notes like fennel and crushed basil.

The extra bit of ripeness is helping with the approachability of our Riesling. This brings a more seamless cooperation between the acidity and tannins and, ultimately, a smoother “flow” of the wine from start to finish. The wine is very coherent and creative, where the triangle of acidity, sugar and extract is dynamic and active. This gives a playful wine that is fun and interesting to drink.

2020 Dry River Craighall Riesling

Similar to the 2019 Riesling, the 2020 vintage is also approachable as a young wine.  The early season heat summation and good summer sunshine hours have benefitted and supplied the ripeness we desire.

The wine is approachable now and can cellar for another seven to ten years to come to full maturation.

Riper fruit aromatics like rock melon and yellow plums are mixed with floral notes of white-water lilies and clover, with hints of white tea, lime zest and fennel seed.  The palate is equally aromatic with a rich and voluptuous entrance and an immediate involvement of fresh lemon(cello) acidity.  It is all “smiles up front and business in the back” for this wine, as the stern acidity and structure move in to dominate the amiable front.

2019 Dry River Craighall Riesling

We often look at our young Riesling to see a firm and apprehensive character.  The 2019 is less so; the wine is a little looser and more forthcoming.  The short heatwave in late January might have initiated a rapid onset of skin and tannin ripening to help the accessibility with the early harvest maintaining freshness. 

The wine is approachable now, but will reward cellaring for another seven to ten years.

The nose is open and soft natured, fresh and broad.  The bright look is upheld by citrus flesh, lemon rind and white flowers.  Granny Smith apple, mandarin juice and menthol spice make the nose seductive and inviting to continue the journey.

On the palate we see an equally gentle personality too.  The friendly entrance builds rapidly with an effortless movement slowing down in the centre to add weight and focus through lemon flowers, lime juice and anise.  The fruit intensifies towards the mid and finishes long with a precise and harmonious acidity, which gives the wine its open feel. 

2018 Dry River Craighall Riesling

The pale golden colour reflects that of freshness and rigor.  Tropical peach and kiwifruit characters reflect the warmer vintage in 2018.  However, since we picked this very early – 14 March, we were able to maintain the subtle fragrancies we seek out in Riesling; lime sherbet, lemon zest and apple blossom. 

Expect this wine to further evolve for optimal drinking pleasure after three to five years.

The additional benefit of an early harvest is that we retain a strong mineral acidity, which manifests on the nose in the form of wet river rocks and citrus blossom.

The palate follows a similar pattern to the nose: dense with a touch of sweetness at the entrance which makes it feel broad, with ripe fruit flavours.  We often see the more tropical influence from our Craighall block 5 Riesling, which is planted with a better aspect to the sun.  Craighall block 6 Riesling is planted perpendicular to block 5, east/west, causing more shading of the fruit.  This brings out a palate that is long and drawn out with chalky phenolics which highlight the textural feel of the wine.  The acidity creates a fresh tension to firm up the wine and show a linear and horizontal structure.  This firm acidity helps to salivate the mouth and drive the wine creating a long finish, which makes it a good food matching wine.

2018 Dry River Craighall Selection Riesling

The latter part of the 2018 vintage was an excellent period for Botrytis bunch selection. When Botrytis fungus is present at the right stage during grape ripening, as it was in 2018, a natural plant defense mechanism is triggered.  This brings out complexities not present when it occurs late in the season; the fungus will bring interesting aromatics and complexities, but this is mainly as a result of dehydration.

The nose is very seductive, elusive and suggestive of a late picked wine.  The candied pear, rockmelon, honeysuckle, orange rind, and figs drive this expression.  Furthermore, one can distinguish flower characteristics of Jasmine, Christmas lilies and wisteria.  The vibrant fruitfulness is maintained through rock melon, mangoes, and mandarin.

The shape of the palate resembles that of an inverted droplet.  Luscious and broad at the start, then drawn inwards to a singular point when traveling to the back of the mouth.  This is likely to be a function of an interplay between the viscosity and the acidity.  The residual sugar of 120 g/l, combined with a wine pH of 2.7, will explain this.  The complex flavours are difficult to single out, though honeysuckle, yellow plums and lemon sorbet stood out.  This can be a long-lived wine in the cellar, 10 years or more, and should be approached with care.  When combined with food, think of cheese, and avoid high acidity in the dessert.

2017 Dry River Craighall Selection Riesling

It was an extraordinary year for this style of wine. Only two selective picking passes were made and subsequently blended with a small portion of early picked Riesling to produce this wine.  The combination of the clean and early pick with late and severely Botrytis affected fruit, resulted in a polarising wine of orientation versus distortion.

At such an early stage, it can be difficult to pinpoint exact fruit descriptors.  Thanks to the high percentage of Botrytis infection and shrivel at picking, the wine shows an astonishing degree of complexity.  Clover honey, ripe stone fruits and preserved apricots are the advanced fruit characters.  The mineral edge is accentuated by orange peel, lemon rind and grapefruit pith.

There is no mistaking about the residual sugar: 95 gr/l, which gives it a rich and welcoming start.  But soon the wine regains a clear direction and focus from the zesty acidity.  A full middle palate, presumably from the highly matured fruit at harvest, enters the clash to stretch out the linear direction and alter the course.  The palate resembles the aromatics described above with added Granny Smith apple and orange flesh.  A beautiful wine now, however, the real interest of this wine is expected to arise over time as the wine unfolds over the next five to ten years.

2016 Dry River Craighall Riesling

The change in timing of the release of this wine to our autumn release has given us more insight in the development in its youthful stage.  We see this wine ‘growing up’ even within the six months extra time it spends with us.

Maximum benefit is rewarded to those who cellar for up to seven years or longer in good cellars.

Over time the closed aromatics, flavours and structure slowly transform and open up to reveal its nature.  A burst of spring fruit flowers of apple and citrus liven up the nose and are tempered by fresh ginger, kaffir lime and lemon grass.  Considered the timing of picking was relatively early, end of March and beginning of April, the interest of these characteristic Asian aromatics suggest sufficient fruit ripeness during harvest.  They are further complimented with a sea salt character combined with fennel seed and grapefruit skin.  A juicy and mouth covering acidity spreads and pulls the palate, initially leaving little room for the underlying aromatics to be apparent.  The soft nature at the front of the palate and the austerity of the lemon and lime suggest a timid wine. After some time in the glass Granny Smith apple, orange rind and yellow plum skin balance the rectangularity with weight and roundness in the middle of the palate.  A light chalk powdered texture exposes the tannins and coats the mouth with a misty and seductive finish.

2016 Dry River Craighall Selection Riesling

Our approach to developing this wine through multiple picks came to a climax at the tail end of the season.  The last component was harvested on 30^th of May, fully shriveled with a large percentage of Botrytis infection.  This is not necessarily visible during the youthful stage of the wine, however once further evolved it can bring spectacular and intense aromas.

The appearance is darker and golden.  Thanks to the numerous picking stages, the aromatic landscape is varied and abundant.  Clover honey and rock melon are combined with, yes, raspberry, lemon sherbet and rose petals.  Juicy lime zest and pineapple give familiar ripe Riesling appearances on the nose.  A firm acidity is instantly recognised, encapsulating the concentrated fruit where it partners with 75 g/l residual sugar to create a nervous mid-palate timbre.  Though shy at first with a strong suggestion of sweetness, it is kiwi fruit, kumquat and Satsuma mandarin that grab the attention.  A long, linear finish shifts the focus to the back highlighting the honey and mineral texture.  The elongated, oval shape with precise acidity will remain in place for the first five years.  Further evolution will highlight complex Botrytis characters of the late harvest component of this wine.

2015 Dry River Craighall Selection Riesling

Pale coloured with flecks of green which suggest purity of fruit and brightness of flavour. The nose is tightly wound with concentrated citrus, pithy grapefruit and aromatic Tahitian lime characters. There is also a noticeable touch of pineapple and honey aromas. Befitting this style of wine, we also see a minerality in the form of a struck rock or flint nuance. Whilst the aromatic profile is where some of the interest lies, we feel it is the palate where most of the action is. This release of Riesling ?Selection? really does take us on an exploration of the essence of this noble variety. The greatest Rieslings-in this style-pitch a perfect balance between knife edge acidity, residual fruit sugar (70g/l) and relatively low alcohol (8%). The tension created between these three structural components of the wine are a revelation when first experienced. And so it is with this wine-a dry growing season, extremely low crop rates and ripe fruit have accentuated every component of this wine. Enjoy now or lay down for medium to long term cellaring.

2014 Dry River Craighall Riesling

We pick dry Rieslings early to maximize natural acidity which provides structure and length in the wine. Our Rieslings generally retain about 5-6 g/l of residual sugar, which combined with the high acidity, gives the impression of a bone dry style. The aim of this wine is to achieve full flavour and phenolic ripeness at moderate alcohol levels. This ripeness also brings refined texture, it disperses the acidity and delivers fruit weight and transparent phenolics. All aspects are working in harmony to provide a seamless and fulfilling wine with extensive length and potential for long term cellaring.

We recommend resisting the temptation to drink now and assess the wine in another three years. Better still, cellar for an extended time, up to ten years.

A bright and light golden straw colour is a good introduction to this energetic wine. Instantly the grapefruit and lemon tart aromas become obvious with green Anjou pear and Granny Smith apple casting a courtship over the nose. The lean and transparent entrance is balanced by a light sweetness.

2014 Dry River Craighall Selection Riesling

The term ‘selection’ for this wine indicates how the grapes were picked. We selected the ripest parcels of fruit (picked later) with low sugar content and high acidity, and little incidence of Botrytis. The aim was to produce a Riesling with low alcohol level, high residual sugar and high acidity in order to create a tension between these components. Our two Craighall Riesling blocks have different aspects to the sun, and by combining selected picks from both we can achieve fruit ripeness and strong acidity in this style.

The colour is pale yellow. Lemon, grapefruit and fejoa provide classic Dry River aromas. It is often suggested that mineral notes in wine are a result of the acid structure, especially in this variety. When combines wuth the citrus fragrance, this wine can be described as having mineral notes which could be a consequence of the acidity or something else. Regardless of this debate, a crushed rock character shows through on the palate in this wine. The 50g/L of residual sugar enhances the weight and power whilst the acidity and modest alcohol level provide balance and purity. The lemon sherbet-like acidity has two functions: it lengthens and also invigorates the palate. Granny Smith apple and yellow plum flavours assist in the broadening and impression of weight in the wine. A textural element from the phenolic compounds gives th palate focus and linearity and contributes to longevity. We expect a cellaring potential beyond seven years, peaking after 10 years in a good cellar.

2012 Dry River Craighall Riesling

Our Riesling has optimised the low sunshine hours and cooler temperatures this year to achieve wonderful ripeness, body and aroma. Maximum exposure to sunlight means low potential for Botrytis so the fruit for this wine was picked in pristine condition.

Riesling from cooler vintages (like 2012) can benefit from extended time in the cellar.

With a pale straw colour the wine showcases a remarkable opulence of ripe fruit flavours. Honeydew melon, clover honey and lovely floral blossoms are followed by mandarin peel and spice such as cardamom, fennel and lemongrass. The wine is soft at the entrance but a full and dense palate unveils the beautiful fruit ripeness with rock melon and Buerre Bosc pear. Mouth-watering citrus fruit and chalk-like characters tie this wine together which results in a long and taut finish.

2011 Dry River Craighall Riesling

Riesling is the the most delicate of the varieties that we harvest so it was fortunate that it could be taken in before the weather changed. This is a light straw coloured wine with ripe aromas which include crushed Kaffir lime leaves, fresh fig and soft spices. On the palate it appears firm and big in extract – almost weighty for a dry Riesling. The flavours are fresh rather than crisp and have a clean, lingering aftertaste. They form an interesting mixture including limes, citrus zest and nutmeg and the wine is likely to take some time to unfold. For me this is the variety which does particularly well with white fleshed fish, chicken and Japanese cuisine.

2009 Dry River Craighall Riesling

The colour of this wine is that of straw with obvious green tints. First and foremost are the floral aromatics followed by lemongrass and grapefruit with a chalk rather than talc expression of minerality. Long penetrating flavours combine lemon grass, yellow grapefruit and white peach with an extended lemon sorbet aftertaste, a notable clarity of expression and silky mouthfeel. Like Chardonnay, longevity expectations are a function of the vintage. Typically this wine will develop significantly over the next 4-7 years by which time it will start to be evident for how many years beyond this it will be interesting to cellar it for.

2008 Dry River Craighall Riesling

This is bright and straw in colour – a more poetic member of our staff calls it ‘soft spun gold with hints of green’. It is delicately scented – citrus blossom, talc, white peach and with a palate which has flavours of pink grapefruit and its zest, plus an obvious minerality. Overall, the flavours are delicate but complete even at this early stage in its development. The palate is linear but not to the point of austerity, the texture is silky with a restrained richness and the aftertaste is long. The wine appears to have a big future, although whether it will live to the 10-20 years that some of these wines can achieve is yet to be determined.

2006 Dry River Craighall Riesling

This wine is a light green-gold with lifted up-front florals, smelling of red clover, granny smith apples, a touch of melon as well as an obvious minerality. The palate reminds me of crunchy Granny Smith apples and grapefruit with traces of white honey and it has a mineral aspect which I liken to sucking on river stones. The palate is silky but taut with a persistent Meyer lemon after-taste. This wine is drinking well now but it has a very low pH and may be expected to age slowly and gracefully for quite some years. Be aware that, as with all our cellared wines, it will tend to appear quite taut when first opened and decanting for a few hours can be beneficial even when it has considerable bottle age.

2005 Dry River Craighall Riesling

This wine is quite pale, displaying a fragrant bouquet of flowers, lemongrass and sweet passionfruit. The flavours are focused and refined, reminding me once again of lemongrass and limes with a touch of passionfruit pulp, and with a finish reminiscent of wet riverstone. I am guessing this to be a medium-term Riesling with a drinking window of 3-6 years, but it will need to be re-evaluated around 2008.

Two we have tried recently are ’89 and ’94 – both to my palate quite exciting – and ’88 which was our first ever Riesling is still in good shape. Note that good cellaring conditions are essential for good results.

2004 Dry River Craighall Late Harvest Riesling

This has a mid-green/gold colour with an initially reticent nose perfumed with lemon blossoms and honey that opens up to reveal apricots and toasted walnuts. The palate is long and elegant but concentrated, with a persistent, lush but fresh aftertaste with flavours of talc, apricots and white peach or passionfruit, limes and lacings of honey. In style and weight it can be likened to a fine Mosel auslese.

2003 Dry River Craighall Riesling

This has a light lemon colour with hints of green. The bouquet is spicy, smelling of citrus and peach blossoms, orange peel, baked apples and talc. The palate is relatively full for this style of wine; it has noteworthy texture and intense flavours of citrus, yellow peach and Granny Smith apples followed by Allspice and mineral notes. These wines soften and fill out with time, as well as gaining the complexity which is responsible for their reputation as a great varietal. Drink from about 3 years and evaluate – Riesling can be quite long-lived.

2002 Dry River Craighall Riesling

This wine is light straw in colour and smells of flowers, sweet hay, talc and crushed lemon tree leaves. The palate is silky in texture tasting of lemon curd, Granny Smith apples, sweet flowers and talc, with lemon zest on the finish. To me the wine is somewhat austere in structure at present but I have no doubt it will fill out to become quite a rich wine with similarities to that which we produced in 2000. Riesling can be surprisingly responsive to the vintage: the amount of canopy influences the varietal, floral and even mineral characters, while shading within the canopy can cause it to produce its own version of ‘herbaceous notes’ – normally different and more subtle than Sauvignon blanc but sometimes almost as obvious. Vintages with active botrytis (possibly not even visible in the fruit), depending on the activity and levels of laccase enzyme produced by the fungus, can result in wines which develop (and peak) faster and show honeyed, botrytis characters when none were initially evident. My guess is that this wine may be medium term, showing powerful but pure varietal flavours from the full, carefully managed canopies and honeyed flavours from the hints of botrytis influence. Try at 2 years, and evaluate after this – it is likely that you will be drinking it inside 6 or 7 years.

2002 Dry River Craighall Late Harvest Riesling

The fruit for this wine was picked around mid-May when the drought was biting hard and the leaves were largely gone. The crop was clean with a sprinkling of botrytis and berry shrivel, and it resulted in a wine analagous in style to a Mosel Spatlese for its clarity of expression, but with greater weight and concentration overall. The wine is straw tinted with a greenish hue, and has a bouquet of lemon and apple blossom, honeydew melon and a touch of talc. The palate is long, persistent and honeyed, tasting of fresh Gravenstein apples, Meyer lemons with hints of fresh apricots, and a crisp mineral finish. These wines typically blossom in about 3 years and can be long-term cellaring prospects.

2001 Dry River Craighall Riesling

An interesting wine, showing the hallmarks of the vintage with a low alcohol level and extra emphasis on a floral expression of Riesling. The colour is a light lemon-straw, and its bouquet is of sweet lemon blossom combined with hints of crushed lemon zest and talc. The palate is in a dry style, while still managing to be soft and approachable – tasting of crushed flowers touched with Meyer lemon zest and baked apple and a slight mineral character. Our Rieslings tend to be longer lived than many other varieties, normally drinking well from four or five years (less for warmer cellars) and they are capable of living well past this.

2001 Dry River Martinborough Riesling

The few Martinborough Rieslings we have made have been from the fruit off younger vines, whose juice we have judged to be less phenolically ripe than what went into the Craighall Riesling. Recent retasting of these wines shows this distinction is questionable and I suspect the after cellaring the judgement with this wine will be no different.

This wine is a pale greenish straw colour with a voluminous, predominantly floral nose: apple blossom, roses and freesias, limes and a touch of talc. The palate is full, with a long aftertaste managing both richness and delicacy. The flavours follow the nose showing some of the characters of gravenstein apples, nashi pears, a touch of lime, even mandarin and talc but retaining the elegance and perfumed nuances of the nose. The wine should cellar well but will also drink well earlier than the Craighall equivalent.

2000 Dry River Craighall Riesling

The grapes for this wine were picked in several parcels around mid-April to achieve a spread in flavours. The juice fermentation elected to stop slightly short of dry and yielded a wine with a bouquet of flowers, dry straw and lemon peel with hints of spice with a long, fresh palate tasting of limes, lemon zest and with mineral notes. It has an almost mouth-watering intensity and a long aftertaste but is in a fairly restrained style which gives the impression that there is quite a lot to emerge.

1999 Dry River Craighall Riesling

The grapes for this wine were picked in two lots 18 days apart to provide a greater spread of flavours. The aromas range from toasty limes to touches of yellow peach with orange blossom and hints of talc. The palate is long, lean and crisp, with an intense front palate showing locked-up fruit which is yet to emerge, and with lime, yellow peach and minerals also apparent on the nose. The palate resembles a slightly more sumptuous version of the ’96 dry Riesling when it was at that point of development. At present the ’99 wine only hints at the elegance and ethereal grace I would expect to emerge with time. This is a wine for matching with food after bottle ageing (4-8 years or longer).

1998 Dry River Craighall Amaranth Riesling

The grapes for this Riesling were ripened under perfect conditions for optimum concentration and ripe fruit flavours. Berry sizes were less than half normal because of the drought and the crop level was low (1.7T/A). When we harvested on May 4 the grapes were blush pink and in perfect physical condition with sufficiently low sugars to produce a dry style of wine. Our ‘Amaranth’ distinction, after the unfading flower of Greek myth, denotes a wine which we expect to be particularly rewarding for cellaring. It is not a ‘winemakers selection’ made on the basis of perceived quality.

1998 Dry River Martinborough Riesling

The majority of the fruit for this wine was picked in the first week of May, and includes fruit from both our Craighall vineyard and the Canning vineyard which is directly behind our winery. The grapes were left on the vine until after sugars had ceased to accumulate, so that the flavours had reached optimum physiological ripeness.

The final wine is light gold with clear tints of green. Its nose is forward, smelling of citrus blossom, cinnamon spice and zest. The palate is medium, flavourful, but not overtly sweet, with a crisp acid followed by the taste of apples, limes and a long lingering aftertaste. Classic New Zealand Riesling flavours abound. This is a refreshing ‘drink now’ wine for the summer, but it has potential for development up to 6-8 years.

1997 Dry River Craighall Riesling

The transplantation of Riesling to Martinborough has been a success story at least the equal of Pinot noir in terms of quality of wines produced. The fruit was cropped to a relatively low level, and selectively hand-picked to produce a light gold wine with delicate aromas of lemon sorbet and touches of dry straw and honey. It has a fresh acidity, with penetrating flavours of limes, fresh apples and oranges, a touch of honey and a persistent, almost mouth-watering aftertaste. The palate veers to succulence and richness rather than the austerity of a completely dry Riesling style. It is attractive as a young wine, but has the poise and grace to age well and produce the complexity and interest that fine wine is all about. This is a robust cellaring wine and should be long-lived under reasonable cellaring conditions.

1996 Dry River Craighall Riesling

Soil moistures were higher than in most years in the early part of this season, and they resulted in full vine canopies with the potential for ebullient varietal flavours at the ’96 harvest. From March conditions were drier than average, resulting in small berries, which, in combination with the low cropping levels for most varieties (1.4 ? 2.6T/acre), have produced wines with bold varietal flavours, average to high concentration and medium-term cellaring potential.

1995 Dry River Craighall Riesling

Riesling cellars well, and good examples can be very long lived. In my view our dry Rieslings are food wines rather than for drinking by themselves. When young they can be austere in flavour and should be cellared prior to drinking. Our 1995 wine is no exception. It has classic Riesling citrus characters on the nose, and firm, dry, even powerful citrus and mineral flavours on the palate which beg for time to fill out and soften to show the typical developed Riesling characters. This Riesling crop was drastically thinned well before harvest to provide the wine with extract and potential. Its low pH (2.8) contributes to its cellaring style, and promises elegant and focused flavours as the wine matures. It is an excellent food wine style particularly suited to more delicate-flavoured foods which are at risk of being swamped if accompanied by higher alcohol wines. Cellar 3 – 6+ years depending on cellar conditions.

1994 Dry River Craighall Riesling

This wine is distinct from the ‘dry Craighall Riesling’ released in spring. It is largely from a different block of Riesling (in the same vineyard), cropped low and picked mid-May with a little incipient botrytis. The wine was finished medium-dry, and the flavours are more limey and less floral than the Spring Release wine. This is still in a relatively dry style but it is more adaptable for casual drinking than the true dry Riesling. As always, the Riesling is suitable for laying down.