Spy Valley Envoy Riesling 2009
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Parker
Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Envoy Riesling is produced in a fully sweet, lower alcohol style (8% declared alcohol). It gives pronounced aromas of lime leaves, lemon grass and green apples over straw, honeysuckle and mandarin peel plus a whiff of musk. Light bodied, sweet and with a good line of refreshing acidity, it has a pleasant earthy / musky character on the palate suggesting some botrytis, finishing long and citrusy. Drinking now, it should cellar to 2017+.
Seek Spy, find why.
Award winning, sustainably crafted wines that capture the unique time and place of every harvest. A family owned estate, hidden in the heart of Marlborough New Zealand, one of the world’s purest wine regions. Six varieties of grapes are grown on over 160 hectares of pristine vineyards. It just so happens that they share the valley with a satellite communication station that finds the terroir perfect for spying too. Unlike the world of espionage, Spy Valley wine has demanded global attention, where the wine has been called impossible to ignore and the company among the planets 20 most notable new producers. Delivering exceptional experiences for wine lovers around the world.
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.