2019 Mystery Marlborough Riesling Deal No. 6458

The maker didn’t rush this one. After fermenting in tank, the 2019 rested there for three years and wasn’t bottled until May 2022. The fruit comes from three Riesling blocks on a single Marlborough vineyard, on very free-draining stony silt loam. The family behind it planted in the 1990s. Many thought the land too stony and dry for vines. Vines were thinned for shoots and bunches to keep yields down. 2019 was dry and warm, giving small yields and concentrated fruit. It was one of the maker’s earliest harvests, with the Riesling picked in the second half of March. It’s genuinely dry, with just 1.5 grams of residual sugar per litre, at 12.5% alcohol. James Suckling found lime, honeysuckle and flint, a solid core of fruit and a fresh, mineral finish. By release, the maker said it was already showing the aromatics of an older Riesling. Expect lime, honeysuckle and river stone, with the first toasty notes of age. The acidity is still steely. The maker reckons its structure will carry it for years yet. A dozen gives you room to watch it change.