ZEPHYR MARLBOROUGH RIESLING
Ben Glover, of Wither Hills fame, is now focusing on matters closer to home and has taken charge of his family winery, Zephyr. Referring to himself humbly as the janitor, Ben creates wines from their own vineyards in the renowned Marlborough sub-region of Dillon's Point. The whites especially deserve to be compared with other world class whites rather than merely the best of Marlborough.
The Glover family vineyards, planted in 1985 alongside the meandering Opawa River, have inspired the family’s passion for wine. The vineyard is now very much an aromatic specialist with Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer and Riesling. The viticultural and winemaking philosophy embraces the structural strengths of the vineyard. The wines show classic cool climate precision matched with palate depth and the ability to support texture. Winemaker Ben Glover says "I have always wanted to express the exquisite refined bouquet, the precise structure and the 'line' of these aromatic wines from our farm. Zephyr allows me to do this - winegrowing is a natural expression and extension of what our family and I have done on this property for years and the opportunity to pay them back with home grown, world class wines is too good to be true," says Ben.
The winemaking is a pretty simple process - hand picked bright pale green fruit - not too much golden sun burn. Gentle whole bunch pressed - Cold and the free run kept separate to ensure vibrancy. Fined as juice, and left to settle at for a week before being racked off warmed and fermented with innocluated yeast - long and slow to ensure a ripe phenolic texture and elegant aromas - then on cold again for 4 weeks before being prepped for bottling in late August. No oak treatment on this wine.
The result is a crisp, sultry, succulent wine offering pert phenolics, verve, Gin and Tonic acidity and a stunning lime with dry, refreshing vibrancy.
Perfect with salads, seafood and sashimi.
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