2018 Carrick ‘The Death of Vontempsky’ Skin-Fermented Riesling Cult Wine

The 2018 Death of Von Tempsky is handpicked Riesling, fermented on skins and sealed with maceration for 200 days. This wine reminds me of some of the great amphora wines of Italy – it has a waxy, resinous richness which is juxtaposed against the intense floral aromatics of Central Otago Riesling. To me, this is a wine that has a quality I can only describe as “the unbearable lightness of being”. Because Riesling is a relatively thin-skinned grape the wine is pale gold (rather than amber or orange) but has a brightness, persistence, and beauty that is hard to compare. As for the label, it is a lithograph by Marion McGuire Von Tempsky was killed in Taranaki during the New Zealand wars, but in this image, his death takes place in ancient Troy. Of the label, choice Francis says, “This juxtaposition of timing fits well with the wine in the bottle. It is made in an old style manner but very much a product of a contemporary winery.”