Felton Road Dry Riesling 2020

The nose leads with white florals and crushed stones that overlay aromas of pear, cucumber and lemon zest. The palate is surprisingly expansive as the acidity perfectly integrates with the weight and depth of fruit. A bold and expressive dry Riesling with considerable drive and length. Salivating and contemplative of its schist soils origin.

Felton Road farms four properties totaling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. Block 2 is an east facing gravel outwash fan situated on the Elms vineyard immediately to the north of Block 3. The soils are with very deep angular schist gravels with a thin loess covering. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity.

Riesling from Block 2 of The Elms vineyard was hand-picked then carefully whole bunch pressed, settled for 4 days before racking, then followed by a long slow fermentation of 8 weeks with indigenous yeasts to almost complete dryness (6g/L RS). The wine rested on fine lees to build palate weight before bottling in early-September after minimal processing to preserve and highlight the delicate Riesling characters.