Lawson’s Dry Hills Gewurztraminer, Marlborough

Lawson’s Dry Hills is a boutique winery, close to Blenheim in New Zealand’s Marlborough region. It is part of the Family of Twelve, a fraternity of twelve of New Zealand’s most prestigious and enduring artisanal wineries.

The original company vineyard was planted in 1982 by Ross and Barbara Lawson, who launched the Lawson’s Dry Hills label some ten years later, in 1992. Today, the company’s wines range from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir to Riesling and Gewurztraminer and are all made from fruit grown in the Wairau, Waihopai, Omaka and Awatere Valleys. These different regions and carefully selected vineyard sites provide varying characteristics derived from the different soils and microclimates, giving many options when it comes to blending to that much-anticipated Lawson’s style.

The dedicated bunch of people that make up the small team here are relaxed in company, yet passionate about their wines. They are very ‘hands on’, living and breathing every part of the viticultural and winemaking process and love to share their award-winning wines with others.

The estate is justly renowned for its Gewurztraminer. In fact it is really gewürztraminer personified with wonderfully lifted florals and pronounced notes of lychee and citrus. The wine has a soft and rounded texture with a weighty, generous mid-palate. Rose petal flavours give way to ripe tropical fruits while the finish has a pithy lemon character. Intensely concentrated, complex and delicious.