The spring and early summer were warm and so exceptionally dry that we felt the vines might suffer from the effects of drought. In February we had the unexpected; a torrential downpour set the dry streams gurgling merrily and totally replenished the ground water reserves.  Late in autumn we had humid conditions which led to some botrytis developing in riesling.  Many producers picked early to minimise the effect of this but fortunately we braved it out until the weather cleared and the patches of botrytis became beautifully shrivelled and noble.
  
After picking, the fruit was gently pressed and left to settle.  The clear portion of the juice was then slowly fermented at a cool temperature in stainless steel to ensure it retained varietal purity and the additional exotic aromas and flavours provided by botrytis.  The wine was handled very gently to allow it to retain some of the natural carbon dioxide from the fermentation to give it a touch of spritzig.

This classic style Riesling is different from the 2007 because of the botrytis.  It has a star right lemon hue and while lemons, limes and mandarins come to the fore, there is a background of ripe stonefruit such as peaches and apricots.  Honeysuckle and honeycomb influences come from botrytis, which has also made the wine more full bodied and concentrated.  It has a spine of natural acidity and tingling minerality that helps draw out the palate structure to a citrus zest finish.

Wine is a natural health food.