Forrest Late Harvest Riesling 2007
Winemaker's Vintage Report
A wine inspired by my love of both the Riesling grape and the classical German Auslese wine style. With the crafting of our latest Late Harvest Riesling it completes a quartet of Forrest Estate Riesling’s, from the dry minerally “new world” Riesling; through the appealing medium New Zealand style; this low alcohol “Auslese style”, and finally the intensely citrus flavoured, deliciously sweet but beautifully balanced Botrytised Riesling.
The grapes were left to fully ripen, with only a small amount of Botrytis, through to 24.7 brix. Hand harvested, whole bunch pressed, with only the premium juice being used for a cool slow fermentation, which was halted at 9.5% alcohol. The resulting wine was allowed to settle slowly over several months, fined and then filtered prior to bottling in 375ml screwcap bottles.
Tasting Notes
An “Auslese style” Late Harvest with low alcohol (9.5%) shows intense apricot, orange peel and tangelo flavours with just a hint of allspice. Very delicate, with a perfect balance of sweetness (70g/l residual sugar) and fresh tense acidity. On the palate a lovely minerally character adds to the wine’s complexity. Perfect before or after a meal but best cellared to allow an even greater complexity to come through with bottle age. |
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