Drylands Dry Riesling 2007
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2006-
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Drylands Vineyard is situated near the middle of the Wairau Valley Region, 30m above sea level, surrounding the Drylands Winery in Hammerichs Road, Blenheim. The current Winery Block comprises 43ha Sauvignon Blanc, 1.5ha Semillon, and 1.5ha Chardonnay. The region immediately adjacent to the winery buildings has some of the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines, going back to 1980.
This vineyard produces Sauvignon Blanc with intensely herbal and some sweaty characters. Fruit from the alluvial silts produce aroma and racy characters while fruit from the stonier sites has a textural character. Fruit from this vineyard shows traditional, typical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc characters. This vineyard now has Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Accreditation.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.