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.
2016 Vintage
“A dry Riesling with fragrant aromas of Manuka honey, ginger, rose petals and roasted lime. The palate is focussed but lingers with notes of lemon honey and bright citrus” Olly Masters (Winemaker)
Vintage Notes
Central Otago had a very dry 2016 season and unrelenting winds for most of spring and summer largely due to the El Niño weather pattern. Overall it was a relatively warm season and we recorded 1245 Growing Degree Days (GDDs), and it was a very dry season. Harvest occurred at a similar time to normal reflecting the ripening time required for the slightly heavier crop this season. Some of the usual measures of ripeness were quite different this year: lower brix (sugar) levels which is positive in terms of not getting excessive alcohols; lower acid levels reflecting the warm season; and our malic acid levels were also some of the lowest we’ve seen. We hand-picked the Riesling at an average of 6 tonnes per hectare.
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 (48%), GM110 (36%), GM 198-19 (16%) |
| Planting | 2005-2007, Altitude: 228 – 315m | Harvested | 20 April 2016 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 22.0 / pH: 2.92 / TA: 9.1 g/l | Bottled | 27 September 2016 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc: 13.5% / pH: 2.83 / TA: 8.3 g/l | Cellaring | 1 – 6+ years |
| Residual Sugar | 4.5 g/l | Style | Dry |
Winemaking
The hand-picked fruit was whole bunch pressed and given a few hours of initial contact time before being pressed to tank for settling. The majority of the juice (86%) 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 portion of natural sweetness was retained in the wine to avoid it being too austere.
