Dry River Madness!
As I mentioned in my last post I attended the Dry River 2006 Spring Release tasting on Tuesday. It was great. The wines were amazing and the pourers were polite, knowledgeable and extremely welcoming (in that they did not look down on the guy who was about 3 generations younger than everyone else and was wearing jeans and a hoodie instead of a suit).

For those not in the know, Dry River is a small, boutique winery in Martinborough which is inland in the south east of the North Island of New Zealand. The wines are most notable because they are almost impossible to get hold of. They are damn good though. What struck me about all the wines was that they were all amazingly approachable but also equally amazingly age worthy.

Dry River ‘Craighall’ Riesling 2006
This was a lovely medium dry Riesling with both the acidity and sweetness (that balance each other beautifully) to last a long time. It has stereotypical kiwi Riesling flavors: lemon/lime, granny smith and hints of ripe melon and kiwifruit. It has an almost honey like viscose texture and a clean, dry, stony/mineral finish.

Dry River Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Sadly, this is Dry River’s last Sauvignon Blanc. Ever. The vines have already been ripped out of the ground and replaced with Pinot Gris. Talking about new things, expect a Viognier at the Autumn 2007 release – they have used minimalist treatment in the winery so no oak or melolactic fermentation so expect something clean and aromatic. The Sauvignon Blanc was amazingly fresh and bright but unlike other kiwi savvy didn’t sacrifice this for softness and subtlety. Again, it was a high level take on traditional kiwi savvy: it was like turning the amp up to eleven. On first approach I got the grassy, fruity summery Sauvignon Blanc vibe which then proceeded to evolve into something more. The freshly cut grass transformed into hay in my glass, the red pepers began to roast and there was a hint of red berries. While it was recognizably Martinbrough savvy it was also similar to dry white Bordeaux and with a high but balanced acidity not usually found in savvy. It will age tremendously well. Drink with lightly steamed or sautéed asparagus toped with a poached egg and shavings of parmigiano reggiano – there is nothing better.

Dry River ‘Amaranth’ Chardonnay 2005
Wow! I keep complaining about over-oaked chardonnay and then they send this my way. This is the best example of oak laden chardonnay from New Zealand that I have ever tried. While oak plays a big part it is amazingly well integrated with the rest of the wine which creates something very special – it is rich and opulent and makes you feel like a king. Strikingly it has an extremely pale straw green hue. It has a full, ripe, buttery nose which follows through on the palate: butter, apricot, almond and yeasty, bready, brioche notes all feature strongly on first approach. These give way to pineapple and passionfruit on the midpalate. It finishes with a lovely dry, clean and long flourish. It is luxurious. Looking at the Dry River website I find that the wine has an astounding 60 grams of sugar per liter – this is combined and balances by a high acidity to create a wine that will age extremely well – deserving of the ‘Amaranth’ demarcation.

Dry River ‘Lovat’ Syrah 2004
On first approach this wine was amazingly fruity with lovely, sweet, red berry, cherry and blackcurrant characteristics. This gave way to hints of spice which will develop further with a bit of age: white pepper, tobacco and anise. It had a lovely, aromatic and floral finish with violet blossom and earl grey tea bringing out the soft but structured tannins. While amazingly drinkable now it definitely needs cellaring. It is almost too fruity to drink now – cheaper New Zealand, Australian and French examples can do the syrah/shiraz fruit bomb thing for much better value.

And that’s what struck me about all these wines. Value. They are all relatively expensive for New Zealand wines. But they are well and truly worth it and out shine almost everything else in their respective price ranges – especially considering their longevity.