Vintage Notes
Following a mild winter, there was a good amount of rain heading into spring, and decent soil moisture to start the season. Some frost fighting needed with an initial cool start to spring, but no damage sustained. Bud burst was slightly early and there was great early season growth – with moisture, low wind-run, and predominantly warm weather. Settled weather and good temperatures in December gave way to changeable conditions, and sometimes cool systems mid-season. Later in the season saw a return of long hot days and mild nights, and a great Indian summer. A drier season than normal overall.

Winemaker Tasting Notes:
Several years ago we devoted a small, north facing, calcium-laced hillside to Riesling and Gruner Veltliner. This is bony, unforgiving ground and it has taken longer than we expected for Burn Cottage to produce this, our first wine from the two varieties. Our inaugural vintage yields were tiny leading to the decision to make a single wine from the varieties. As yields slowly increase, we expect to make separate wines from the two varieties. But who knows? Perhaps over time we might return to the decision that a single, blended bottling is the best. Wine growing is always a voyage of discovery.

Finished wine detail:pH 3.18
TA 6.7g/l
Alc 12.6%
Residual Sugar 5.6g/L

Harvested:14th April
Average Brix at harvest:Riesling 20.8
Gruner Veltliner 21.6
Skin Contact:Riesling: 48 hours whole cluster with gentle foot crush to bathe the bunches in juice.
Gruner Veltliner: 48 hours whole berry with gentle foot crush to bathe the berries in juice.
Press: Pressed together to form a single juice. Static settling overnight. Racked off of heavy lees.
Vessels : Fermented and aged in stainless steel barrels and old oak barriques for 11 months.
Composition: Riesling 53%
Gruner Veltliner 47%
Clones:Riesling 198/19
Riesling 49
Gruner Veltliner 4/15
Gruner Veltliner 4/143
Yeilds:
Riesling 1.4T/Ha
Gruner Veltliner 2.5T/Ha


While Riesling has an established history in Central Otago, Gruner Veltliner does not. Burn Cottage was one of the first wineries to plant this variety here. It has taken us several years longer than some of our friends to produce a wine from the variety because of our very low vigor site. The quality level of Central Otago Riesling is established, but why plant Gruner Veltliner? In a single word: intuition. Additionally, Gruner and Riesling co-exist with great results in some of the great vineyard regions of Austria. Our climate in Central is closer to Austria than to Germany.
In terms of wine style, our only goal is to produce Riesling and Gruner Veltliner which best express our site. We will not be producing late harvest style wines, but concentrate on dry or just off-dry styles for these varieties. While we love the floral fresh tones of many New Zealand Rieslings, the more earthy, rustic style of some traditional producers in Germany calls like the Sirens to Odysseus.
This wine has great aromatic complexity: honey dew melon, begonia, orange blossom, lime, lemon zest, under-ripe pear, quince, fern-leaf, moss, the aromas just keep coming. The palate attack is elegant, dominated by great acidity and freshness which are followed by very moderate sweetness, which yields, yet again, to the bracing acidity on the finish. This is an understated wine which begs for cellaring although it is delicious already. We are thrilled with this first effort. -Ted Lemon

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