Lyric is the songlike quality in poetry, the pleasing succession of sounds in music, and a lyric soprano is a voice of light and unforced quality. So it’s the perfect name for a wine that is pure, expressive yet restrained.
2021 Vintage
“Dark limes, orange zest and nutmeg on the nose, the elegant and refined palate has a ripe fruit density balancing its long satisfyingly dry and refreshing finish”. Olly Masters (Winemaker)
Vintage Notes
A chilly start to the season was followed by warm settled weather enabling some fast growth on the vineyard. By the end of November when flowering started, the spring winds came with a vengeance and continued into December bringing a dip in temperatures whilst flowering occurred on the higher altitudes. By the end of December, the wind stopped but wet and cloudy conditions persisted through January. The following two months had warmer temperatures and the combination of January’s rain followed by this consistent warm period resulted in the canopy and crop levels looking much better than initially predicted.The Riesling grapes were hand-picked in early April at 4.7 tonnes per hectare with the fruit having excellent condition and flavours along with lower sugar and acid levels. Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 1114.
Food Match
This dry Riesling is refreshing and perfect to enjoy just on its own but this style is also extremely versatile when it comes to food pairing and of all the white wines, this one will match the widest variety of flavours. The very best pairing options are seafood and shellfish, fruit dishes, pork, smoked meats, and anything that’s a little spicy.
Details
| Region | Central Otago, New Zealand | Vineyard | Single vineyard |
| Sub-region | Bendigo | Variety/ Clones | GM239 (100%) |
| Planting | 2005-2007, Altitude: 228 – 315m | Harvested | 19 April 2021 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 21.8 / pH: 2.94 / TA: 8.7 g/l | Bottled | 24 August 2021 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc: 13% / pH: 2.98 / TA: 7.6 g/l | Cellaring | 1 – 6+ years |
| Residual Sugar | 5.3 g/l | Style | Dry |
Winemaking
The hand-picked fruit was whole bunch pressed straight to tank for settling. The majority of the juice (62%) was then racked, inoculated and cool fermented to dryness in stainless steel to retain varietal purity. The remaining portion was allowed to undergo spontaneous ferment in older French oak barrels in order to add more complex mineral/flint characters to the wine. A small amount of natural sweetness (5 g/L) was retained in the wine to avoid it being too austere.
