Te Kano Central Otago Riesling 2023

Description

Honey, Lime, Medium-sweet

"It's gorgeously fruited and enticing on the nose with golden peach, orange peel, lemon sorbet, and rich floral aromas. The palate displays juicy fruit intensity and fleshy texture, wonderfully complemented by delectable sweetness and fine acidity, making it harmonious and delicious with a persistent, refined finish. Style: Medium. At its best: now to 2033" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2026

"An off-dry Riesling packed with precision, tangy acidity, and citrus, flows through the palate with a chalky mineral texture. Tropical fruit and sweetness counterbalance the tension and ring a fluid, long finish" Candice Chow, Wine Chat

"A delicious wine touches the senses of acidity and sweetness simultaneously as the wine invades the palate. Fruit flavours of ripe green and red apple, lime and peach are framed by the acidity and satin mouthfeel. A crispness and fruitiness, sweetness and length deliver a wine of balance and deliciousness. Best form day of purchase through 2032+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Mar 2026

Our Te Kano Life Riesling 2023 is a moreish and delightful wine with lovely ripe fruit sweetness on the entry, kept in balance by a lively, spritzy acidity that keeps you coming back to the glass. Pale straw with a green edge in colour, with luscious honeysuckle and ripe citrus (mandarin and ripe lemon) and a hint of slate on the nose. The palate is moreish with ripe mandarin and Meyer lemon, and tropical notes of lychee and pineapple. It enters with a burst of sweet ripe fruits, followed by salivating acidity.

The Life Series captures the essence of Te Kano’s Estate vineyards, using parcels of fruit from across our subregions to give a snapshot of the season and our unique expression of Central Otago.

Our Life Series Riesling was the last fruit picked in 2023. The Northburn parcel comes from our highest elevation terrace at approximately 350m above sea level. This block is windy and exposed and the vines struggle to ripen. Soils are glacial in origin with pockets of wind-blown loess on the Southern side, very hard virgin schist on the exposed northern edges, and some pedogenic limestone layers in the bottom parts of slopes where tundra glacial washout also appears. The Waitaki parcel comes from 20-year-old, unirrigated vines grown on alluvial river terraces made predominantly of sedimentary and alluvial soils with a significant limestone presence throughout the soil profile.

Grapes were picked at relatively low brix and foot stomped to extract flavour and phenolics, then pressed to tank for cold settling. Clear juice was racked and inoculated with a yeast strain selected for its affinity to Riesling, and the wine was fermented very cold and slowly. Fermentation was arrested once the acidity, sugar and phenolics all looked harmonious. Bentonite fining and sterile filtration took place just prior to bottling.