Dry River new releases

The quantities of Dry River wines which come to Australia are absolutely minuscule, the fact that I could taste them probably a sign that it is more difficult for this producer to sell these expensive wines to his traditional customer base.

The whites were a 2009 Riesling, 2009 Gewuerztraminer and 2008 Chardonnay. These wines are very European in flavour and structure. They are not about fruit, but texture and minerality. I must say, I did not find them my cup of tea. The Riesling was a little sweet, the Gewuerz very closed (in a blind tasting I would not have picked this normally easy to identify variety), and the Chardonnay lacked expression, somewhat dulled by 100% malo, I think. Maybe over time, these wines come out of their shells.

Scores: 88-90/-

The 2007 Dry River Lovat Syrah was very vibrant and bright. It was quite peppery, and did not have much weight. Not a bad wine, but again, not my style.

Score: 90/-

Dry River's reputation is built on Pinot Noir. The 2008 Dry River Pinot Noir has a bright crimson colour with little blue tones mixed in. It tastes of red cherries, is quite fragrant. The wine has quite a lush mouthfeel and a savoury note on the back palate. It has excellent clarity, but lacks perhaps some complexity at this point. It finishes quite dry (pun not intended). More than $120 per bottle is too expensive for this wine, unless you want to impress with a bottle which nobody else can produce.

Score: 93/+