Mt. Beautiful Riesling 2017
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The 2017 Mt. Beautiful Riesling is a purely textural adventure, ripe with off-dry flavors of honeysuckle, pink grapefruit and sweet almond blossom. The citrus notes meld together with crisp minerality and a complex ripe apple character. It finishes with a beautiful, lingering acidity. This wine is made by blending together two distinct blocks of Riesling from the vineyard.
Pair the Mt. Beautiful Riesling with fresh New Zealand Scallops, spicy dishes and a laissez-faire outlook on a warm afternoon.
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A perfume of beeswax and key lime with meringue makes for a fine start to this creamy white. The luxurious mouthfeel offers a lean acidity, keeping richness at bay. Salted pear and tarragon sizzle on the mouthfeel.
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These North Canterbury wines are contract made by Sam Weaver, who also makes a range of delicious biodynamic wines under his Churton label. He once again nails the Riesling, from a region ideally suited to the variety. There’s a fair lick of kerosene on the nose if chilled, but let it warm up some and more interesting aromas reveal themselves: orange peel, honeysuckle, talcum powder and minerals. A touch of residual sugar adds complexity to the powdery texture and prickly acidity. A varietally expressive drop at an affordable price. Mt. Beautiful USA
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2018-
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Mt. Beautiful lies in the heart of North Canterbury, on the South Island of New Zealand. The Kaikoura Seaward Mountains lie to the North, while the Waiau River borders us to the North as well. The vineyard rests under its namesake, Mt. Beautiful. Mt. Beautiful crowns the coastal range to the East, and protects the vineyards from the ocean winds. Located about an hour and a half north of Christchurch on Route 1, Mt. Beautiful Winery is on the Northern fringe of the North Canterbury growing region. Lauded by many critics as New Zealand’s most underestimated wine region, it’s a place that has begun to get some incredible recognition. Mt. Beautiful’s wines are a stunning representation of the splendor of the region. The Sauvignon Blanc reaches through the herbaceous spectrum to carry flavors of tropical fruits, the Riesling is ripe with mandarin and citrus, the Pinot Gris is lush and exhibits a creamy mid palate, the Pinot Noir is soft, juicy, and inviting with a hint of cherry, and the Chardonnay is bursting with aromatics of ripe apple and stone fruits while finishing with a clean and crisp flint like minerality.
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.
On the central eastern coast of the South Island, Canterbury includes a collection of small and varied subregions. The region is cool and dry with low rainfall and light, infertile soils. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are well-suited here, with Pinot Gris coming in third place.