Misha's Vineyard Limelight Riesling 2019

"With aromas of crushed lime, sherbet, mandarin and aniseed, this medium-dry style has natural tropical fruit sweetness balanced with a bright citrus acidity." Olly Masters (Winemaker)

Misha's Vineyard Wines - Central Otago

Misha's Vineyard - a 57-hectare single-vineyard estate of which 26 hectares are planted in Pinot Noir and aromatic whites. The vineyard is located in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. Our first priority with the vineyard is careful stewardship of this spectacular land by managing our natural resources with respect. The vineyard is farmed according to the strict regime of sustainable farming practices and we ensure that vine health is never ever compromised.

Our sun drenched north-west facing terraces give us one of the warmest sites in the region with the slopes and gullies providing excellent cool air drainage minimizing any risk of frost. Stretching from 210 to 350 metres above sea level, the plantings are predominantly on three levels of gently sloping terraces with just one steep face (the ‘ski slope’) where the rows run dramatically down to the lowest terrace poised just above Lake Dunstan.

The diversity in the soils, various levels and various meso-climates, different row orientations, as well as the range of clones planted, enable complexity in the wines that few single vineyards can match. Our land is also located within a zoned protection area due to the ‘outstanding landscape’ features including schist outcrops, steep escarpments, and gullies filled with native manuka and wild grasses.

Topography: Moderate to steep slopes, gently undulating fans and remnant terraces comprising wind-eroded and water dissected minor ridges and associated areas of loess accumulations. Soils range from outcrops of schist to very fine dusty sands; from extremely hard red boulders to pockets of sticky red clay; and from river gravels to coarse sands - even a small pocket of rich loam. These soils are very complex as they are essentially a combination of glacial outwash and river gravels but generally fit under the classification of Clyde sandy loam.

The fruit for this classic example of Central Otago Riesling was hand-picked and whole bunch pressed. The initial free run juice (73%) was then racked, inoculated and cool fermented (15-17⁰C) in stainless steel to retain varietal purity. As the aim with the wine is to produce a delicate style where acidity is balanced by natural sugar, the ferments were stopped early by chilling, retaining 31 g/l sugar and therefore also a lower alcohol. The remaining pressings juice was allowed to ferment naturally in older French oak at warmer temperatures (18-20⁰C) to enhance the mineral and flint characters which also balance the wine's sweetness.