Black Estate Wild Life North Canterbury Riesling B 2019 $38 
Fans of a funky, feral, orange-style riesling should definitely explore this. Personally, I prefer to see some semblance of classic lime and apple in my rieslings and this organic, biodynamically crafted style really reaches across the other end of the spectrum. Fermented on its skins (which contributes to its deeply golden colour and chewy astringency) then aged in a large old oak barrel on its yeast lees for 20months, it’s then bottled unfined, unfiltered and without sulphur. So expect some sediment to occur in the bottle, but that’s mitigated with a gentle pour, or a delicate decant. Spicy, seriously dry, heavy on the quartzy minerality, it’s a unique and unconventional treatment of riesling that the Black Estate team feel really explores their terroir and technique.
