With the 2018 Central Otago growing season progressing quickly towards fruit maturity, Misha’s Vineyard will have its twelfth vintage. In this very short space of time, the Misha’s Vineyard brand has become extremely well-established. This rapid rise to consumer acceptance is due in a major part to the keen marketing acumen and boundless energy of owners Misha and Andy Wilkinson. Much of the credit also rests on the careful and sensitive winemaking of Oliver Masters. The estate covers 57 ha, with 25 ha of vines, on the bony soils on their ’Lakefront Terraces’ of Bendigo Station, on the eastern side of Lake Dunstan, near Cromwell. The Wilkinsons and Masters acknowledge the vineyard and vines are yet to show their best, but already, top-class wines have been grown and made.
I’m particularly impressed with the aromatic white wines, which are very elegant in expression and show wonderful fruit clarity. Masters has carefully built into these wine subtle textures and complexities that take the wines into the level of sophistication. The Pinot Noirs are particularly structured, and the extraction has had to be managed to lend stylishness. Nevertheless, the reds are also excellent. I’m sure the nature of the soils, site and microclimate contribute to the tension that appears to be inherent in the wines. I’m also certain that as the vines grow in maturity and integrate with the soils and site, they will become richer, more relaxed and thus, even better. However, at this stage, the fruit is being guided into wines that exude style and very high quality.
Here, I review the latest releases from Misha’s Vineyard, the range managed so that some of the wines can be let onto the market with some beneficial bottle age. Included is a new label, the ‘Cantata’ Pinot Noir, an earlier drinking style reserved to the on-premise sector, and a re-vamped label for the ‘Impromptu’ Pinot Noir, destined for off-premise. www.mishasvineyard.com
FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘The Starlet’ Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2016
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘Lyric’ Central Otago Riesling 2015
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘Limelight’ Central Otago Riesling 2015
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘Dress Circle’ Central Otago Pinot Gris 2017
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘The Gallery’ Central Otago Gewurztraminer 2015
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘Impromptu’ Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘Cantata’ Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015
- Misha’s Vineyard ‘The Cadenza’ Central Otago Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2017
