Dry River produces beautiful, botrytised sweet wines in Martinborough – sometimes very light and fragile, sometimes high in alcohol and powerful – from a range of varieties, but Riesling is viewed as the ‘queen’ of dessert wines. Grown in the Craighall Vineyard, a few hundred metres from the winery, the grapes are usually hand-selected over a one-month period, extending into late May. However, the 2010 vintage (5*), labelled ‘Amaranth’ (especially recommended for cellaring), was harvested at 22.5 brix, without botrytis, on 10 May, and made in a ‘rich spätlese style’. Finely scented, it is very light (9.5 per cent alcohol) and delicate, with lovely, finely poised pear, apple, peach and slight orange flavours, gently sweet (60 grams/litre of residual sugar) and very youthful. Highly refined, it should be at its best 2015+.
Details
Type: Sweet White Wines
Variety: Sweet White Wines
Vintage: 2010
Overall Rating for All Vintages Tasted: ★★★★★ – 5 Stars
Price: $56 NZD
Sweetness: SW
Value for Money: AV
Buyer’s Guide Edition: 2012
This wine is a Super Classic.
When to drink: 2015