2010 Rippon Osteiner Central Otago New Zealand

Wines like this make me realize why I'm in this sometimes crazy, always stimulating business. Proving that the Central Otago region can also produce delicately-scented, textural white wines, Rippon fell in with a rare and lustrous varietal, the robust, thick-skinned Osteiner grape, a vivacious, flirtatious hybrid of Riesling and Sylvaner. Planted on schist-laden soils in 1994, the generous fruit was hand-picked and sorted, gravity-run and racked into tank with its fine lees intact for 24 days. Smacking of white peaches, pears, apricots, and wild flowers, this irrepressible wine was framed by vibrant acidity and a lovely, pebbly minerality. A wine to open and enjoy with sunlit vistas, Dungeness crabcakes or Thai seafood salad.

This wine has a nice balance of fruit,minerality and acidity. I was quite impressed with the crisp long finish of this rare varietal. Try something new.