The grapes were grown on a mineral-rich seam of weathered stones.  2009 was an excellent season for riesling with warm days but cool nights, leading to excellent ripeness with good natural acidity.  Carefully selected fruit, from which this was made contained 30% or more of beautifully raisined, nobly botrytic berries.

The Wine has a rich array of aromas and flavours.  Impressions of peach and nectarine intermingle with those of guava, passion-fruit, lemon and lime.  Honeysuckle and wild-flower honey elements are added by the noble botrytis.  It is concentrated and powerful in the mouth but yet refined and elegant.  There is a spine of minerality and lively acidity, providing a perfect foil to its lusciousness and drawing out its length.  With careful cellaring over the next decade or two other fascinating nuances should develop, including apricot and mandarin-like flavours.

The spring and early summer were warm and so exceptionally dry that we felt the vines might suffer from the effects of drought. In February we had the unexpected; a torrential downpour set the dry streams gurgling merrily and totally replenished the ground water reserves.  Late in autumn we had humid conditions which led to some botrytis developing in riesling.  Many producers picked early to minimise the effect of this but fortunately we braved it out until the weather cleared and the patches of botrytis became beautifully shrivelled and noble.

Waipara was buffeted by frequent strong winds in late spring and early summer which coincided with the period when the grapes were in flower.  It impaired pollination and thus quite markedly reduced the crop level. 

The growing season was longer than usual as mild spring weather resulted in early bud-burst but was followed by cool nights, which prevented excessively rapid growth.  We had good accumulation of summer heat and a long, dry autumn...

The early summer was extremely hot and initially it seemed as though it might be too much for this cool climate variety. Fortunately, February was atypically cool, which slowed down development. There followed a long, dry autumn which allowed the berries to ripen perfectly...

The pattern of the weather during the growing season was similar to that of the previous year, but even more marked. That is to say, the summer was not overly hot, leading to the development of true cool climate riesling aromas and flavours, with the retention of good levels of good acid in the grapes...

Spring was mild leading to the buds bursting early. The weather then became cooler and remained like this over much of the summer, ensuring good retention of natural acidity. There followed the most amazing Indian summer with an incredibly warm, dry, long autumn, ensuring the fruit was beautifully ripe and healthy...

Spring was mild and encouraged early budburst and development of the new growth on the vines. The weather became cooler over flowering in early summer, resulting in a relatively small crop of grapes setting. The rest of the season was warm but not excessively hot and there was a long Indian summer...

The season which produced the 1999 vintage was ideal for Riesling. Warm spring temperatures lead to early bud burst and flowering. The summer was hot, but the nights remained relatively cool, promoting berry development and maturation, while retaining good acidity. A long, lingering autumn completed the ripening...

1998 was an incredibly good vintage for all varieties including riesling. It was a very hot summer and a long dry autumn. The riesling reached an excellent degree of ripeness before some of the most perfect noble rot we have seen began to develop...