Methode Traditionnelle

Chardonnay

Sauvignon Blanc

Aromatic

Dessert Wine

Rose

Red Wine

Mt Beautiful 2009 Cheviot Hills Riesling

For this week’s column I have chosen a Riesling from Canterbury’s Cheviot Hills region, notably the 2009 Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Riesling. At this time of year, Mount Beautiful certainly lives up to its name too with the tapestry of vines adding to the already picturesque landscape.

The 2009 season provided Mt Beautiful with an exceptional base for their Riesling. They had the same warm weather enjoyed in Marlborough but without the summer rain experienced further north. This meant that the fruit was harvested at about the same time as the Marlborough vineyards.

This is the third vintage of Riesling that veteran winemaker Sam Weaver has crafted for Mt Beautiful. Sam is one of the most broadly experienced wine professionals in New Zealand, working in the industry for 30years. In that time he has covered every aspect from commercial and production to the technical side. He holds a microbiology degree from London University and worked in the UK wine industry for 10 years before moving to New Zealand with his family, to become a winemaker.

He has since made wine in five different countries and has been employed as a consultant with some of New Zealand’s leading wine companies. He started his own wine label, Churton in 1997 and it is distributed worldwide. He started working with the Teece family on Mt Beautiful as a consultant winemaker from when they planted their first vineyard in 2004..

I found the 2009 Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Riesling to have aromas of citrus and honeysuckle with underlying floral notes. On the palate, I found this off-dry Riesling to have deliciously complex flavours of citrus, tropical fruits especially passionfruit and pineapple, ripe peach and crisp apple. It is easy to drink, with an excellent length of finish.

I would recommend trying this wine with subtly spiced Asian cuisine and would expect this wine to continue to develop over the next three years if carefully cellared.

Reviewed by Stephen Clark (6/12/2010)

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