Dry River Pinot Noir 2015

SKU
DRPN201512 UCAU
  • Dry River is one of the most hardcore producers in New Zealand
  • Extremely limited production
  • 2015 is an exceptional vintage
  • 1 or more bottles
    $129.99
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  • Gary Walsh
    96 points

Editors notes

Dry River is a highly collected and difficult to secure producer based in Martinborough. The wines, made by the fantastic winemaker Wilco Lam, are often rated in the top 3-4 Pinot Noir's in the country

Details

Tasting Profile

  • Light (Light)
    Full (Full)
  • Low Tannin (Low Tannin)
    Tannic (Tannic)
  • Sweet (Sweet)
    Dry (Dry)
  • Low Acidity (Low Acidity)
    High Acidity (High Acidity)
  • Aroma
    • Earthy
    • Herbal
    • Red Fruits
  • Palate
    • Cedar
    • Red Cherry
    • Strawberry

Food Pairings

  • Fish
  • Game
  • Poultry

Critic Scores & reviews

  • Gary Walsh

    96
    "Gee this is very good. It’s dense, throaty and deep in tannin and flavour, but not heavy or clumsy. Dark cherry, layered with sweet spice and dried herb, an almost ferrous thing going on, which you could call ‘minerally’, if you’d like, rich grainy tannin, cool blood orange acidity, and a very long finish, spiced and pimped up with a delicious Chinotto bitterness. Superb. A wine of charisma, integrity and intrigue. Hard not to fall in love with it."

Other vintages

Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.

Current auction

All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.

Locations

New Zealand

The New Zealand wine industry is one of the younger wine regions in the world, whose popularity grew immensely when Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc hit the world wine scene, quite unique in style when compared to the typical French Sancerre.

Wine is successfully cultivated on both the North and South islands from a latitude of 36 degrees in the North to 45 degrees for the most southerly wine region in the world, the South Island's Central Otago. The majority of regions are located in free-draining alluvial valleys except for Waiheke Island and Kawarau Gorge in Central Otago and benefit from the moderating effect of the maritime climate as no vineyard is more than 80 miles from the ocean. With plentiful sunshine hours and cool evening sea breezes, the grapes thrive.

Sauvignon Blanc is the major white variety people will think of when you mention New Zealand Whites, however fantastic Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and less commonly Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Blanc. Pinot Noir is the most widely planted red variety in New Zealand although Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (Bordeaux Blends), Syrah are also grown and in even smaller amounts, Tempranillo and Montepulcianos can too be found. Sparkling wines of very high standards are also made in New Zealand.

The key wine regions in New Zealand include Auckland, Canterbury, Central Otago, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough and Nelson.

Martinborough

The wine region of Martinborough is located in South Wairarapa on the southern end of the north island, and in only 30 years or so has gone from a sleepy colonial town to a world-class wine village.

The region has picked up numerous international awards since the 1990’s with Pinot Noir picking up the lion’s share of the medals. Pinot Noir is undoubtedly the flagship wine of the region, with some incredible wines being produced.

The mineral-laden soils, combined with the cool climate provide the perfect backdrop for Pinot Noir, much as it has for centuries in Burgundy, France. Indeed the Pinot Noirs produced are very Burgundian in style, a compliment not adorned to many other wine regions worldwide.

The micro-climate of Martinborough is rather warm, with hills both to the east and west. Most all of the vineyards are located in thin strips around the northern and eastern sides of the town or on the Dry River to the south of Martinborough. All the vineyards follow dry riverbeds, which have the desired soil structure for viticulture.

Although Pinot Noir is the king of the reds, Shiraz is also cultivated and in the whites, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and Pinot Gris are grown.

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Pairs Well With

Whether it's a decadent cheese, mouth-watering red meat, perfectly cooked poultry, succulent seafood, or a vegetarian feast, for every wine or spirit you choose from us, we provide you with a number of helpful suggestions for what will pair deliciously with your purchase.

Frequently Bought With

About the brand Dry River

Dry River vineyard was established in 1979 by Dr Neil and Dawn McCallum. In 2003 the vineyard and winery were sold to Julian Robertson and Reg Oliver with Neil staying at the helm as Chief Winemaker until his retirement in 2011.

Dry River aptly describes the very arid, gravely and free-draining site. The first wines, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris were bottled in 1984 and Dry River has since developed a reputation as one of New Zealand's most iconic pioneering wineries.

Some of the methods used at Dry River, in order to bottle true expression of the vineyard site includes no irrigation, old vines and low crop levels. Cultural management practices in the vineyard that help achieve optimal phenolic ripeness include shoot positioning, leaf plucking and maintenance applications of nutrients.

Their approach to winemaking is to preserve rather than enhance what is produced naturally on the vine. Minimal movements of the young wine, low levels of new oak barrels and a cool cellar environment assist the transition from vineyard to bottle. All wines are bottled at an early stage of evolution and reach their potential under a natural cork closure. The wines tend to be slow to evolve in the bottle but as a result of this, are very long-lived.

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