Wild Earth Riesling 2022

The Waitaki Valley in North Otago is renowned for its limestone rich soils which give great minerality and focus to the wines. The maritime climate makes the North Otago region different to the more highly planted semi- continental Central Otago region and the unique limestone rich soils result in wines with crunchy natural acidity and distinctive minerality.
The 2021-2022 growing season was “classic” with no frosts in this vineyard which also had a great flowering resulting in a full yield with healthy grapes. Autumn was unseasonably warm, but a long hang time was still achieved delivering fully developed flavours.

The pristine Riesling grapes were hand harvested from a single vineyard near the Waitaki River at optimal ripeness on 3rd of May 2022. The grapes were whole bunch pressed to a stainless-steel tank for cold settling for two days. The juice was then racked and inoculated with selected German Riesling yeast and fermented at cool temperatures to retain the fresh aromatics. The fermentation was stopped at the perfect balance of residual sugar and acidity resulting in a just slightly off-dry wine with a long dry, crisp, and mineral finish.

This wine is vegan.

Alcohol: 10.5%
PH: 2.93
T.A. 9.4 g/L
Residual Sugar: 20.3 g/L

Awards and reviews
96 points, 5 stars – Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Aug 2024
“Exquisite and pure, the wine shows lemon/lime zest, crunchy apple and white floral aromas with a hint of toasty complexity. The concentrated palate displays brilliant focus and persistency, superbly enhanced with subtle sweetness and beautifully pitched acidity, finishing refined and deliciously appealing. Style: Off-dry. At its best: now to 2034”.

5 stars – Michael Cooper, Oct 2024
“Full of character, the bright, light lemon/green 2022 vintage (*****) is a single-vineyard wine, hand-harvested in the Waitaki Valley.  Still a baby, it is attractively scented and light-bodied, with penetrating, peachy, citrusy, slightly spicy flavours, gentle sweetness (20 grams/litre of residual sugar) balanced by mouth-watering acidity, and lovely vigour, depth and harmony.  Best drinking 2027+”.

94 points, excellent – Cameron Douglas MS, Aug 2024
“A vibrant and vivacious bouquet, a delicious palate with flavours of lie and elderflower, lemon, apple and white rose. An off-dry expression with some sweetness with contrasting acidity. Flavours of apricot stone and pineapple, citrus and tree fruits. Salivating and refreshing, a delicious aperitif style, best drinking from 2024 through 2030+”.

93 points, 4 stars – Stephen Wong, The Real Review, Aug 2024
“Tight, zesty nose like sherbet. Detailed with tiny sparks of apples, flowers and seashell. The palate is lean, lower-alcohol, light, linear and medium-dry with evident juicy sweetness. The tangy, puckering finish manages to hide the sugar under a whack of reverberating acidity. Grainy and fine pithiness at the end. A quiet, zingy wine”.

18.5/20, 93 points, 5 stars – Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, Aug 2024
“Bright, even, pale yellow. The nose is gently full and poised, with aromas of citrus and peels, golden apple, stonefruit, blossom and mineral threads. Medium-light bodied, off-dry to taste, aromas of golden apple, lime and zest intertwined with peach, blossom, saline and chalky minerals. The pristine fruit shows a sense of purity; crisp, invigorating acidity is well-balanced by sweetness. Fine, chalky minerals contribute to the palate texture and a hint of smokiness. This low-alcohol Riesling is refreshing, well-balanced and packed with purity and texture. Match with breakfast sausages and fish tacos with hot sauce over the next 5+ years. Fruit from Waitaki Valley, handpicked, whole bunch pressed to stainless steel, inoculated, fermented to 10.5% alc, 20.3 g/l RS. 18.5/20 pts (93 pts)”.

17.5/20 points – Joelle Thomson, Aug 2024
“Beautiful crisp young Riesling with fresh acidity balancing rich peachy suggesting a cool southern climate, which is where the grapes in this wine grew in North Otago. Flavours here range from intense lime and green apples to zesty lemon and there is brightness in every lingering sip”.