Astrolabe The Farm
Dry Riesling
2020
The Farm is my own vineyard, situated in Grovetown, in the lower Wairau Valley. The vines at The Farm are some of our oldest. We dry farm, practise organics and are moving towards organic certification. The old vines in the riesling block are a mix of three different clones. Nowadays, riesling is not so widely planted in Marlborough, but it is perhaps one of the varieties best suited to Marlborough’s cool climate.
A mixture of hand-picked and machine-harvested grapes were fermented with light solids to produce an aromatic, dry wine with attractive citrus and floral flavours. Only the free-run juice was used to preserve fruit clarity and a tight acid structure. I think riesling presents one of the best cellaring wines of all, especially in the screwcap closure, and I expect this wine to age gracefully for many years.
Simon Waghorn — Winemaker
TASTING NOTES
COLOUR/APPEARANCE
Pale lemon.
AROMA/BOUQUET
Lemon honey and lemon zest, green apple and citrus blossom.
PALATE
A light-textured, mineral wine with fresh apple and lemon flavours and a crisp, racy acidity.
AGING POTENTIAL
This wine is crafted to allow for long and graceful bottle-aging. It will reward careful cellaring. However, the wine is already drinking well.
FOOD PAIRING
Pairs well with a wide range of food, from light poultry, pork and fish with beurre blanc to fragrant and spicy dishes.
RIESLING SERVING TEMPERATURE
Lightly chilled.
2020 vintage
95 POINTS "OUTSTANDING"
"Immediately enticing bouquet of lime and lemon, white flowers and white fleshed peach. On the palate - just dry with a whisper of residual sweetness which is hardly noticeable with the core of citrus and stnoe fruit flavours, acidity and mineral flint-like flavours. Very crisp and refreshing with a salivating saline effect leading to a dry finish. Delicious and drinkable from today with ideal drinking from 2024 through 2040."
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APR 22
Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
camdouglasms.com
90 Points "Outstanding"
"The 2020 Dry Riesling The Farm is unmistakably Riesling with its youthful, tangy green apple and lime citrus flavors. There's no funny business here – just pure fruit, a sense of lime and a brimful of acidity. The fruit is pristine; only the free-run juice is here, meaning the cream of the crop. A little padding fleshes out the midpalate, ensuring that this is not just angular Riesling. Drinking window 2022-2029." - MAR 22
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Rebecca Gibb, Master of Wine
Vinous
2019 Vintage
94 POINTS
"Apples and white roses, sweet lemon and fresh white peach tea. A fragrant and enticing bouquet. Aperitif style on the palate with a core of tree fruits and citrus flavours, high acidity and long intense finish. White apricot and green apple, honeysuckle, cold stone minerality and a hint of lees and gun flint. A lovely example with best drinking from 2022 through 2030+."
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Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
4 STARS
"Grown at Grovetown, in the Wairau Valley, the 2019 vintage (4*) is a single-vineyard wine, partly hand-picked. Bright, light lemon/green, it is medium-bodied, with fresh, citrusy, slightly appley flavours, showing good vigour and intensity, and a slightly off-dry (5.3 grams/litre of residual sugar), crisp finish. Best drinking 2023+."
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Michael Cooper
New Zealand Wines: Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide 2022
Sustainably certified SWNZ
Vegan