Vintage: 2022
Tasting notes
Colour | pale green | yellow flint
Nose | lime blossom | clementine | spice
Palate | lime flesh | lemon zing | pity | sultry
Food matches | haloumi and mint | summer salads | squid | sashimi
The Winemaker | “crisp, sultry, succulent, verve, gin and tonic acidity and a stunning refreshing vibrancy”.
Awards & Reviews
2022 vintage
90/100 | WineRater
Perfumed, fragrant yet subtle nose with attractive aromas of lemonade, nashi, yellow roses, and wet stones. Delicate, decidedly dry, linear and vivaciously fresh with rapier-like acidity and a fine, steely finish. Needs some time to open up.
90/100 | James Suckling
Aromas of chamomile tea, lemon peel, nutmeg and lime leaf. Medium-bodied. Straightforward on the palate with green apple character. Refreshing tannins at the finish. From organically grown grapes. Vegan. Drink now. Screw cap
94/100 | Cameron Douglas, MS
Fragrant and enticing bouquet of flowers and sweet red apple flesh. On the palate distinctive flavours of quince and apple, citrus and wild flowers, honeysuckle and white spice. Delicious, fresh, saline, vibrant and new. Fantastic acid line, mouthfeel and finish with a whisper of ginger spice.
2021 vintage
5 stars | Michael Cooper
The youthful, but already highly attractive 2021 vintage (5*) is a single-vineyard wine, grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley. Certified organic, it is light-bodied, vivacious and finely poised, with excellent intensity and delicacy of lemon/lime flavours, and an appetisingly crisp, off-dry (9 grams/litre of residual sugar), lingering finish. Best drinking 2024+
4.5 stars | Yvonne Lorkin
Crafted from fruit grown in the Dillons Point sub-region of the lower Wairau Valley, this little whipcrack taste tornado is loaded with lime and lemongrassy goodness, mandarin and a zing of taut, tense acidity. So energetic, refreshing and plucky, it’ll perk up even the most sluggish of palates.
93 /100 | Candice Chow
Bright, pale yellow with a slight green hue, even colour throughout. The wine has a restrained bouquet, softly penetrating citrus, white spice and elderflower. Medium-light bodied, dry to taste, pineapple, lime pulp and zest have a juicy core, melded with a hint of elderflower and coriander seed. The fruit is fleshy with good intensity, enlivened by acid tension, lends a long, crisp finish. This is a zingy, dry Riesling with flavours of pineapple, lime and a focused palate. Match with calamari or Vietnamese fare over the next 5+ years. Fermented to 11.5% alc, 9 g/l RS. Organic certified. 18.5/20 pts
2019 vintage
- Gold, 97/100, Marlborough Wine Show, 2019
93/100 | James Suckling
This has such attractive and punchy ripe peaches and limes. Some flinty notes on the nose, too. The palate delivers scintillating acidity and plenty of fruit depth. Drink now.
93/100 | Cameron Douglas, MS
An enticing, varietal and engaging bouquet of Riesling with aromas and flavours of lime flower and sweet mandarin, lemon and grapefruit pith, honeysuckle and a touch of elder-flower. Great texture on the palate with an abundance of acidity contrasted by a core of fruit, long finish and building complexity as the wine opens up in glass. This is a very good example of Riesling. Drink or cellar. Best from today and through 2026.
2018 vintage
90/100 | James Suckling
A slightly waxy edge to the array of tropical and peachy aromas and flavors. Just off-dry, this has summery appeal. Drink now.
2017 vintage
- 4 stars, Cuisine, 2018
93/100 | James Suckling
This has such attractive and punchy ripe peaches and limes. Some flinty notes on the nose, too. The palate delivers scintillating acidity and plenty of fruit depth. Drink now.
5 stars | Winestate
Lovely mouthwatering aroma, almost gin and tonic like with subtle lemon and lime. Off dry with very attractive succulent peachy flavours sitting alongside those of citrus and red apple. Nice length, well made, not forced. Super Stuff.
2016 vintage
93/100 | Cameron Douglas, MS
Fine and expressive bouquet of fresh green apple, lime flower and mangarine/tangerine, floral, mineral, inviting. On the palate – vibrant fresh, lively and very crisp with plenty of acidity and a core of ripe citrus and tree fruit flaours, mineral layer, some spice and while there is some residual sugar the wine finishes dry. Drink now to 2024.
18.5/20 | Raymond Chan
Bright straw-yellow colour with some depth, pale edged. This has a very fine. Elegently proportioned nose with delecate armoas of lime fruit and white florals harmoniouly interwoven with notes of rainwater and mouithwatering mineral elements at the core. Off-dru to taste and light-medium bodied, the palate features a firmly concentrated core of lime and lemon fruit with lifted white florals and hints of honeysuckle, unveiling thirst-quenching mineral notes. The wine is poised with brisk acidity enlivening and lifting the fruit aromativs, and the wine flows with good drive and linerity, leading to a long, lingering, fine-featured and textured, dryish finish. This is a finely concentrated, poisedd and refreshing off-dry Riesling with lime, lomon and whire floral fruit, and mouthwatering mineral nuances. Serve as an aperitif and with Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine over the next 5 year.
89/100 | Lisa Perotti-Brown, Wine Advocate – 2017
The 2016 Riesling gives expressive notes of key lime pie, lemon curd and honeysuckle with a touch of bakers yeast. Light-bodied, crisp, elegantly fruited and dry, it delivers great citrus intensity and long invigorating finish.
2014 vintage
- Top NZ Riesling, 2016 Canberra International Riesling Challenge
- Top NZ Riesling, 2015 Canberra International Riesling Challenge
- Trophy and Gold, 2015 International Aromatic Competition
- Gold, 2016 Australia and New Zealand Boutique Wine Show
- 4 stars, Bob Campbell MW
#2 in Top 10, 5 stars | Cuisine – 2015
Earthy, broom flower florals give this dry wine a slightly ‘sauvage’ dimension. In the mouth, the racy acids take you on a great ride through colourful splashes of citrus and apple.
4 stars | Winestate – 2016
Youthful, single-vineyard wine from the lower Wairau Valley. Finely poised, medium dry style, with strong, citrusy, slightly spicy flavours and good harmony.
4 stars | Sam Kim – 2016
Youthful and delightful, the delicately fragrant nose shows ripe citrus, fresh apple, floral and a touch of flinty notes. It’s juicy and vibrant on the palate with excellent focus and fine texture, finishing long and crisp. Charming, pure and pleasingly dry. At its best: now to 2020.
2013 vintage
4 stars | Winestate – 2016
Tight, youthful wine, off-dry with good vigour and intensity of lemon/lime flavours, slightly toasty notes emerging and a lengthy finish.
2012 vintage
- Gold, Sydney International Wine Competition, 2016
- Gold, Royal Easter Show, 2014
- Gold, Marlborough Wine Show, 2013
- Gold, Royal Easter Show, 2013
Best Buy | Cuisine Magazine – March 2014
This “totally seductive” wine rocked Cameron Douglas’s world and earned high praise from the entire panel. It’s a big, concentrated wine, beautifully fragrant, offering bright apple notes and a pure lick of acidity.
4.5 Stars | Cameron Douglas Master Sommelier
Generous and lush with a rich mix of citrus and apple fruit suggestions; apricot and mandarin skin add layers of generosity. An off-dry aroma of sweet lemonade popsicle adds both a familiar smell and a little more complexity. A striking texture with a particular focus on how the acidity captures the palate, but is forgiven by the generosity of fruit and lick of residual sugar. Sweet air, white flowers and wet stone flavours add to the length and appeal of this wine. A lovely example and great aperitif.
92/100 | Ralph Kyte-Powell, goodfood.com.au
Lovely varietal purity offering delicate floral, lime zest and slatey aromas. It’s not quite dry in the Australian sense, with a beautifully managed whisper of fruit sweetness woven through steely structure and high acidity. Delicious.
2011 vintage
- Gold, 97/100, Museum Legacy Award, Marlborough Wine Show, 2019
- Silver, Royal Easter Show, 2013
- Silver, Royal Easter Show, 2012