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.
2015 Vintage
“With a perfume of jasmine, mandarin and lime juice, this dry Riesling has a citrus freshness with a steely edge of the schist rock on which it’s grown and just a hint of sweetness.” Olly Masters (Winemaker)
Vintage Notes
The 2015 Central Otago growing season was the game of two halves – initially very cold and dry, then much warmer than normal. Dry conditions persisted throughout the growing season with less than 100mm of rain recorded (versus an average of 200mm). The cool temperatures through to the end of November delayed canopy growth. Temperatures warmed up in December and enabled good flowering and fruit set and conditions stayed warm right through until harvest which commenced on 8th April. The season finished with the best canopy growth we have seen but this was also partly due to less impact from wind. Our fruit was in pristine condition when we hand-picked this Riesling at 6 tonnes per hectare with acids slightly lower than normal and sugars slightly less than average. Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 1150.
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 |
| Production | 203 cases | Variety/ Clones | GM110 |
| Planting | 2007, Altitude: 228 – 315m | Harvested | 29 April 2015 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 22.1 / pH: 2.98 / TA: 8.0 g/l | Bottled | 23 September 2015 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc: 13% / pH: 3.0 / TA: 7.7 g/l | Cellaring | 1 – 6+ years |
| Residual Sugar | 5.5 g/l | Style | Dry |
Winemaking
The hand-picked fruit was whole bunch pressed, but was given a few hours of initial contact time before being pressed to tank for settling. The majority of the juice (78%) 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.
