Dry River, Martinborough, Pinot Noir 2004 (Very Rare)

3.0-3.5cm | HIGHLY ALLOCATED TO WINERY MEMBERS LIST

DRY RIVER

Was established in 1979 by Dr Neil and Dawn McCallum and was one of Martinborough’s first wineries. Named for one of South Wairarapa’s earliest sheep stations, Dry River rests on the very arid, gravelly, free-draining soils near the Ruamahunga River, an area known as the Martinborough Terrace.

The McCallums’ dream was to produce unique, high-quality wines that age beautifully. It has been our focus ever since.

With small vineyards and limited production each year, Dry River continues to sell directly to its loyal club members first and foremost.

Dry River wines evolve in the bottle and reward patience by getting better over time.

From the very first vintage, Dry River has followed three key vineyard management principles: no irrigation, careful canopy management, and crop thinning. These three concepts work together to produce grapes of remarkable ripeness and concentration.

Over the last eight years, our focus at Dry River has shifted to encouraging biodiversity. In our vineyards, we still weed by hand, with beehives dotting the landscape and karearea (New Zealand Bush Falcon) often seen hovering over the vines.

These regenerative, biodynamic and organic vineyard farming practices have taken a major role in defining the Dry River approach. We use wild yeasts and spontaneous fermentation, respecting and trusting our environment.

In eliminating all systemic pesticides, insecticides and fungicides, we have become much more aware of how we care for this environment and what our threats are. We observe and respect our soils, flora and fauna, and use practices that are sustainable and optimal for our site.

The fruit for Dry River wines is grown and harvested on three blocks: Dry River Estate, Craighall and Lovat. Where fruit comes exclusively from one vineyard it carries the vineyard designation.

Dry River Estate was first planted in 1979, and the fruit provides structure and backbone to our wines. Craighall was first planted in 1983, and provides linear structure and acidity to the wines. Finally, Lovat vineyard, planted in 1992, is responsible for the accentuated fruit characters in our wines.

A very pure, concentrated and traditional style Pinot with high levels of fruit tannin and relatively little new French oak (20%). A vibrant, perfumed wine packed with cool forest berry and cherry stone flavours, underpinned by a distinct and profound mineral content with notes of tea leaf, enveloped by velvety, fortifying tannins.

92 Points Wine Enthusiast

This, one of New Zealand's cult wines, should retail for about $85 when it hits a select few retailers' shelves this fall. Although not perhaps the strongest vintage in Martinborough, the 2004 Dry River Pinot Noir features incredibly kaleidoscopic forward fruit that ranges from cherry to plum to mixed berries and back again. It's lush and round, yet still structured to age, with a long, silky finish. — Joe Czerwinski 11/1/2006

93 Points CellarTracker Member

Purchased on release. This bottle is rocking. 2/28/2019