Spy Valley Riesling Marlborough NZ 2008

Price: £9.49

Ripe grapefruit and melon flavours dominate the nose with a developing palate of tea and a hint of oilyness.

Producer: Situated on the sunny southern side of Marlborough's Wairau Valley, nestled on the terraces of the Omaka River are the vineyards of Johnson Estate.

Eight varieties of grapes over 125 Ha (308 acres) producing premium quality fruit for Spy Valley Wines. Spy Valley is a colloquial name for Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley, derived from the presence of a satellite communications monitoring base. The fertile, free draining stony soils result from successive flood events and glacial outwash deposits over the previous 10,000 years.

Grape: Riesling is probably the most misunderstood and mispronounced grape variety, despite being widely acknowledged by wine critics as one of the world's greatest grapes. Riesling is the noble grape variety of Germany, known there as the King of Grapes! Riesling ripens early and is best fermented cool. It should be bottled early with as little interference as possible in the processing - no oak-ageing or malolactic fermentation is required. As well as delicate dry to off-dry wines, Riesling produces some fine late harvest wines.

Region: Marlborough is located on the northeastern edge of the top of New Zealand’s South Island. Marlbourgh started making wine in 1875, however, the modern story really starts in 1973 when Montana planted Sauvignon Blanc and took the wine by storm. In addition to its variety defining Sauvignon Blanc it producers excellent Rieslings and Pinot Noirs.

Style: These wines are more distinctive in style than the mainstream grape varieties and usually provoke a love/hate response! Worth testing out on your tastebuds is a Gewurztraminer for a luscious & fragrant wine with lychee, lime and apricot aromas. This wine is wonderful with Chinese or Thai food. Discover the full on fruitiness of the fabulous Riesling grape which develops petrol aromas as it ages.

Ratings for older vintages

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