Main Divide Waipara Valley Riesling 2024

Description

Blood Orange, Floral, Medium-dry

On release it has a pale gold hue. Fragrant and perfumed, the nose offers a rich tapestry of orange blossom and jasmine, interwoven with hints of lime peel, spiced apple, white fleshed pleach and a lick of honey. The palate has a delicious engagement, with a spritzy mouthfeel, attractive sweetness and beautifully infused acidity. These elements unite, adding structure and length, on the long, citrus laden finish.

Main Divide is the local name for the Southern Alps and is the backbone of the South Island, where grapes for Main Divide are exclusively sourced. Vineyards have been selected for their quality and ability to express unique regional flavours.

Cooler and windier conditions during Spring meant lower crop levels, keeping fruit thinning to a minimum. The weather gods then handed us the opposite during Summer, with a warm and settled state prevailing, so this smaller crop was able to mature beautifully. Autumn was similarly favourable, allowing each variety to be picked at its optimum ripeness. Our 2024 harvest saw smaller yields across the board, but as a result we were blessed with intense fruit flavour and concentration, delivering some outstanding wines.

The grapes were picked in stages during the second half of March and first part of April. Some parcels were intentionally left to hang until later so they could be harvested with a portion of noble botrytis. The free run juice was then slowly fermented at cool temperatures to help the wine retain its vibrant fruit characters and varietal purity. During this time daily tasting was undertaken to assess levels of acidity, alcohol, and residual sweetness, with the fermentation being stopped once the right balance was achieved. Winemaking intervention was intentionally kept to a minimum to allow the vintage, variety, and vineyard to express itself harmoniously. At all stages, from fermentation to bottling, the wine was handled very carefully to help it retain a little of its naturally dissolved carbon dioxide. This may result in a small amount of spritzig, accentuating the freshness and liveliness of the wine.