Dry Riesling - The Water Race 2020

Central Otago's Domain Road Vineyard, near Bannockburn, is sited in a sheltered valley which provides a unique micro-climate, ideal for producing premium quality wines. Our Riesling vines are planted on two vineyards Domain Road and Defiance Vineyard on Felton Road. 

On Domain Road Vineyard the Riesling vines are planted in the lower region of the vineyard where 19th century gold miners left an area of exposed mineral rich ‘pipe clay’, the remnants of a 10 million year old lake bed.  On Defiance they are planted on a north facing slope which are predominantly clay based soils. 

Water races were used by gold miners to carry water and are an iconic part of the Central Otago landscape, following the contours of the hills, often over many miles. Many are still in use today helping transform a dry landscape into useable farmland. Domain Road Vineyard, like many others, relies on the industry of early settlers and their water races to produce its wines, including our Dry Riesling.

The Wine

The grapes were hand harvested from Defiance Vineyard on 9th April 2020.  The fruit was destemmed and crushed before being pressed to stainless steel tanks and cold settled for two day.  The juice was then racked and inoculated with selected wine yeast.  The cool fermentation was stopped to retain a touch of residual sweetness to balance the acidity.

Pale straw with lemon hues, our Water Race Riesling is a dry style wine with bright acidity balanced with good fruit sweetness.  Fragrant with tropical fruits, stonefruit, lime zest, sherbet, green apple, nettle and hint of honeysuckle on the nose.  Intense and racy with crisp apple, lime, tangelo, kiwifruit, rosehip and pink grapefruit showing on the palate.  A beautifully balanced wine, with a long mineral and citrus finish.   

An excellent food wine, full of flavour so it can hold its own against quite strongly flavoured cuisine.  Also excellent with fish and seafood. Goes well against roasted vegetable salads and spicy lentil and black bean dahls. 

"Lifted aromas with green apple, passionfruit, basil, mineral notes and hints of floral honeysuckle. A tight, taut, racy style with crunchy acidity and a zesty, salivating finish that will no doubt benefit from a couple of years in the bottle to fully open up." NZ Wine Rater.

" Pure, ripe and complex bouquet of fresh apples and lemons, a deep core of mineral scents from stone to schist and blossom. Complex, pure and ripe on the palate with fresh white fleshed tree fruits and citrus flavours merge with mineral and floral highlights. Very lengthy on the finish with persistent flavours and mouth watering textures. Best drinking from 2022 - 2032+" Cameron Douglas

Download wine notes here

Our Wines

• Pinot Noir
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Riesling
• Symposium
• Pinot Gris
• Pinot Noir Rosé
• Chardonnay