The newly-released 2014 Spy Valley Riesling is sourced from the Johnson Estate vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand.
The grapes were hand-picked in small lots between the 22 March and 13 April 2014 at different levels of maturity. Each batch was fermented separately in tanks and old oak vessels, with some natural and malolactic fermentation to increase texture and complexity. The different lots were then blended before bottling.
This is a 13% abv. wine, with 2.6 grams of residual sugars, that is to say virtually dry. Find out more with the full Technical Sheet of 2014 Spy Valley Riesling.
So what is it worth? The answer is in the tasting note:
Appearance: pale lemon-green color. Bright and shiny.
Nose: very fresh and fragrant, with a medium-to-high intensity, appetizing notes of freshly cut grass, ginger biscuits, lemon, and dry pineapple. It seems to be the addition of both less-ripe acidic green berries, with riper grapes that deliver loads of tropical fruits characteristics. To a certain extend, it almost reminds of fresh dry Muscat, with the addition a subtle petrol and grassy notes. Further layers display plenty of esters (pear, apricot) as well as subtle lees-contact-like notes of dough.
Palate: This is a very dry (virtually no residual sugar is perceptible), crisp and acidic wine. The wine appears to be the pure expression of the grapes after total fermentation, like a dry and very fragrant grape juice. There is fresh lemon-like acidity, and a medium to light body to balance. There is no hiding behind sweetness which is both surprising and refreshing out a NZ Riesling. A savory, nearly bitter finish, asking for being paired with food. It leaves your mouth salivating, and slightly dry from the tannins and acidity.
Very few NZ Rieslings are this dry, and it’s a refreshing (both literally and figuratively) surprise to find this ‘trocken’ example out of Spy Valley.
So you’ve got the point, if you like new world Riesling, pungent and packed-full of a large array of fresh flavours like Marlborough famously delivers, yet in a dry style, this is one for you. I’m actually thinking many good Asian restaurants should have this wine on their list as it seems to be the perfect affordable accompaniment for spicy flavors and exotic food.
A great find: a well-made flavorsome NZ Riesling in a lean German trocken style, the best of both worlds!!
Read the full Spy Valley Producer Profile:
Learn more about Spy Valley Winery on their website Spyvalleywine.co.nz
Find this wine to buy online on Wine-Searcher.
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