Small and Small are a husband and wife team who make their wines for Naked Wines and I’ve tried several of theirs over time. This was my first taste of their Noble Riesling – made with grapes affected by Noble Rot – Botrytis (although thats worthy of a different blog in its own right).
I tend to drink my dessert wines (or Stickies as the New Zealanders call them) as a pudding in themselves so no matching took part; we just simply enjoyed it on its own lightly chilled, and it made for a perfect end to a long January day.
Wine Notes
Type – Sweet/Dessert Wine
Country – New Zealand
Region – Marlborough
Producer – Small and Small
Vintage – 2016
Grape(s) – Riesling
Appearance
A clear deep golden colour with pronounced tears.
Nose
Clean, pronounced, primary aromas of jammy stone fruits, peaches a hint of tropical fruit.
Palate
Sweetness – Sweet!!! Not quite luscious though.
Acidity – High Acidity
Alcohol – 10.5% so light
Body – Medium+ body
Flavour Intensity – Medium+ Flavour Intensity, with a very clean finish and not cloyingly sweet.
Flavour Characteristics
The primary flavours are decidedly fruity – lots of nectarine and peach which has a jamminess to it. There’s a follow through of citrus peel which balances some of that first sweet hit and then a nice sweet spice as an after-note.
Their own notes say Marmalade and straw – I can see why they say the Marmalade but it wasn’t that overt to me. I definitely didn’t get the straw.
Finish – Medium – its not very long-lasting
Conclusions
Quality Level – Good
Readiness for drinking – Ready to drink now
Grapes to Wine 