Dry River Pinot Gris 2016

SKU
DRPG201611 UCAU
  • Possibly New Zealand's greatest Pinot Gris
  • 95 points, "Attractive and approachable now" - Bob Campbell
  • 18.5/20 points "This is a soft-textured, subtly rich and unctuous medium Pinot Gris" - Raymond Chan
  • 1 or more bottles
    $74.99
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  • Bob Campbell MW
    95 points
  • Raymond Chan Wi
    18.5 points

Editors notes

This wine is approachable when young, but gaining considerable interest after five to seven years.

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
    • Peach
    • Pear
    • Stonefruit
  • Palate
    • Green Apple
    • Lemon
    • Mineral

Food Pairings

  • Fish
  • Poultry
  • Shellfish

Critic Scores & reviews

  • Bob Campbell MW

    95
    "Full-flavoured, creamy Pinot Gris with flavours that include but also transcend the usual tree fruit/pear varietal focus with subtle tropical fruit, floral and exotic spice characters. It has a delicious texture - creamy but supported by almost subliminal tannins. Attractive and approachable now although I expect the flavours to amplify and multiply with bottle age."
  • Raymond Chan Wine Reviews

    18.5
    "Bright, light straw-yellow colour with some light golden hues and a suggestion of blush, lighter on edge. The nose is fresh with soft, full aromas of ripe yellow and savoury white stonefruits entwined with gently lifted florals and nuances of honeysuckle, minerals and nuts. Medium-dry to medium in sweetness and medium-full bodied, the flavours of ripe yellow stonefruits, honeysuckle and exotic florals are restrained in expression, but form a soft, near-unctuous mouthfeel. The roundness of the palate is enhanced by soft acidity, and the wine flows smoothly, following a soft-textured core. There is some alcohol drive and power that carries the wine to a long, lingering, rich finish of stonefruits, honey and florals. This is a soft-textured, subtly rich and unctuous medium Pinot Gris to serve with Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine over the next 4+ years."

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.

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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.

Wairarapa

Maori for 'glistening waters’, the Wairarapa is located in the southeast corner of New Zealand's North Island, about an hour away from Wellington. Amongst the small, quaint towns and rolling fields of livestock, you'll find some of New Zealand's finest wines.

The small community of boutique winemakers in the region work hard to preserve the unique terroir of the region. Wairarapa offers hot summers, cool nights, and long, dry autumns that are perfect for ripening. The strong winds and harsh, semi-maritime climate leads to low yields of healthy, small grapes with very thick skins - these grapes are treated with care to make some outstanding wine.

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

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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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