Winery Spotlight:Dry River Wines
Post by Chuck Hayward | August 22th, 2010
Dry River is widely acknowledged to be one of New Zealand's most monumental wineries. Without a doubt, Neil McCallum and his staff produce world-class wines across the board that represent the pinnacle of what's coming out of the country. The wines from this property have always been scarce, as the 3000 case production is mainly sold to mailing list customers and fine restaurants, with only the most passionate promoters of New Zealand wines seeing any of their output.
- map of New Zealand
Founded in 1979 during the beginnings of New Zealand's modern wine industry, Neil McCallum set about planting pinot noir in the Martinborough area located about an hour east of Wellington, the country's capital. Along with Clive Patton of Ata Rangi, Larry McKenna of Martinbourough Vineyards (and now at Escarpment) and Stan Chifney of the now defunct Chifney Estate, the four winemakers are credited with being amongst the first to make serious attempts towards the production of quality pinot noir in New Zealand. While pinot remains the core of Dry River's production and its concurrent fame, the winery also excels in other varieties including riesling, syrah and gewurztraminer... with a total of 8-10 different wines produced each year.
Neil came to winemaking from a background in botany, in which he received a doctorate from Oxford. His scientific background led him to be an articulate spokesman on topics regarding the intersection of wine, terroir and viticulture. Nowhere does that fact appear so clearly as on the winery website which contains numerous essays by Neil that delve into these themes (e.g. "Where does the expression of terroir end and that of winemaking begin?," "Tannins, palate structure and longevity in pinot noir," or "Musings: The Brain is a blunt instrument." Click here to read these and more). They are more direct, detailed and serious writings compared to the sly humor often found in similar jottings from Randall Graham of Bonny Doon.
- Dry River Vineyard
Pinot Noir makes up a majority of Dry River's production (about a third of the total production) and given Neil's passionate opinions about winemaking, his style is a personal one. Accordingly, Dry River pinots have become quite controversial compared to the classic burgundian model. As Neil Martin of Parker's site declares about McCallum's approach: "It is beautifully crafted in a style that is contradictory to what I believe pinot noir should be." The pinot noir of Dry River is devoted to finding the optimal colors and flavors that can be derived from its site. The gravelly soils of Martinborough, along with viticultural innovations from Neil, such as reflective mulch, have created pinots that are intensely dark and opaque in color with a similar density of fruit on the palate. He is devoted to understanding what New Zealand pinot noir is capable of becoming. He knows, however, "it will take some time before the new styles are completely accepted because Burgundy has been centre stage for so long."
Where Dry River's pinot elicits much debate and discussion, the rest of the portfolio seems to garner more universal praise by the wine world. The aromatics (riesling, gewurztraminer and pinot gris) all share pure varietal expression with an initial sense of youthful restraint. It is with brief time in the cellar that the power of the wine reveals itself. Neil's stickies are rare releases but always have a combination of pristine fruit flavors with botrytis. Meanwhile, the peppery syrah showcases why the grape is poised to become New Zealand's new wine star.
- Dry River Post
I have been fortunate enough to have sold more than 10 vintages of Dry River pinot noir and have never been less than blown away by the intensity of this wine as well as its impact on those customers lucky enough to have tried it. But as is so often the case with wineries that make more than one iconic wine that captivates critics and consumers, it is tasting Dry River's entire portfolio that makes one realize the strength of vision Neil McCallum has enshrined within his wines. His commitment to wines that require cellaring-- the chance for them to unwind over time-- is rare to find in a world of instant gratification. The ability to balance a wine's flavors on a pinpoint shared equally between power and lightness is a rare skill in the wine world, and Dry River has done that again and again.