The First Releases From Vintage 2019

We are excited to bring you our first releases from the wonderful 2019 vintage.

Burn Cottage Moonlight Race Pinot Noir 2019
and
Burn Cottage Vineyard Riesling Grüner Veltliner 2019.


Order the wines here

In 2014 we made the first Burn Cottage Moonlight Race Pinot Noir. Since then it has become a firm favourite of Pinot Noir lovers, both here in New Zealand and across the globe. The Moonlight Race is a snow, ice and rain fed water race, which begins its life in the high country of the Pisa Range and meanders down through the mountainous slopes and into the valley floor. We have access to the water from this race and thought it a fitting name for the Pinot Noir . The wine itself is comprised of a parcel selection from our two biodynamically managed Estates, the Burn Cottage Vineyard in Lowburn and the Sauvage Vineyard in Bannockburn.

 

The Burn Cottage Vineyard was planted by us in the early-mid 2000’s and is a North East facing amphitheatre, nestled in the hills on the Eastern side of lake Dunstan, just south of the 45th parallel. The lowest point of the vineyard sits around 240 metres and the highest point at 310 metres. Most of the terrain is made up of old river beds pushed up by glacial movements and the soils in the vineyard are derivatives of broken down schist and granite. Which are classified as free draining sandy loams. In the lower elevations the soils are slightly heavier producing rich flamboyant wines of depth. On the steeper slopes the soils are much more rocky and gravelly producing wines of great finesse, concentration and structure.

The Sauvage Vineyard in Bannockburn is a beautiful North East facing site on Felton Road, tucked between the MacMuir Vineyard of Felton Road winery and the Muirkirk Vineyard of Mt Edward. It was originally planted in 1999 with 5.8 ha of Pinot Noir and its low vigour soils are comprised of lake-bed/river silts, loams and quartz sands, along with quartz and schist gravels, with pockets of pedogenic lime, a unique attribute of semi-arid soils. It is a flatter site and slightly lower in elevation at around 220 metres and as Bannockburn sits in the apex of the valley it is also slightly warmer than the Burn Cottage vineyard.

"A mouthful of the Burn Cottage Moonlight Race 2019 delivers you rich Black Doris plum / dark berry fruit flavours and succulent tannins from the Sauvage Vineyard that are beautifully tempered by the floral, crunchy red fruit and savoury edge of the Burn Cottage".

Whilst we know it has immediate appeal, those with patience will definitely be rewarded if you can resist the urge to drink it all now and pop a few bottles aside for 5-7 years. It is also our first bottling under screwcap.

The 2014 vintage was also the first time that we made a white wine off the Burn Cottage Vineyard. We have a spot in the upper part of the vineyard, that looks almost like a skateboard bowl and we decided it was the perfect spot for Riesling and another aromatic variety, that would be at home in the cool climate and schist/quartz based soils of Central Otago.

After a bit of research and chatting with other wineries in the region, we decided that the Austrian variety "Grüner Veltliner" would be a worthy choice to grow. So in 2007/08 we planted half a hectare with two clones of Riesling and a quarter of a hectare with two clones of Grüner Veltliner, with a plan to create two individual wines.

However, as you well know, Mother nature dictates a great deal of what happens in the vineyard. So when vintage 2014 presented us with a very modest crop, Claire and the team decided to marry the two varieties together. In doing so they created what we believe to the * first Riesling Grüner Veltliner from the Southern Hemisphere.

The sixth release of this unique blend is truly exciting. We love the aromas of peaches, lime zest and ginger and how the Riesling gives the wine a lively backbone of ripe Meyer lemon which is complimented by the rounded texture and the ripe pear, peach and spice notes of the Grüner Veltliner. It is a dry wine with cellaring potential of 8-10 years.



The Riesling Grüner Veltliner is a chameleon when it comes to food matching, as you can happily park up and enjoy it on its own, but, it also works with a wide range of cuisines. Two restaurants that have been fans of this wine since its first release, are Rātā in Queenstown and the Michelin starred Duddell’s in Hong Kong. It has proven its ability to straddle the gastronomic gamut, from Rātās’ inspired dish of roasted Hapuka, diamond clams, charred leek and finger lime, through to the subtlety of classic Cantonese, where luxurious Dim Sum dishes are created by the Duddells team using the fresh and natural flavours of seafood, BBQ and vegetables.

Nature threw us a curve ball and in return we were able to craft a unique wine that has gained a worldwide following.

 
Thank you for all your support and we hope you enjoy our two new releases.


Marquis, Dianne and the Burn Cottage Crew.
 
*We can’t find another Southern Hemisphere Riesling Grüner Blend, however if you find one we’d love to hear about it….