2022 Prophet's Rock Dry Riesling, Central Otago

There's some intoxicating aromatic intensity and complexity here. Lime, yuzu, peach and grapefruit with hints of crushed stone, white flowers, clover blossom, brioche slathered with lemon curd, dried honey and ozone. So nicely composed and harmonious with a chalky mineral cadence and a light textural tug at the roof of the mouth. It pulls long, flavourful and true, stony and dry right at the end-point with a lemon-drop intensity. Superb. Drink to 2036.

96 points (Special Value) Dave Brooks for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2025

Well, hello, 2022 Dry Riesling. It's so good to see you. When I am sad in a day of tasting mediocrity, you give me reason to smile and remember why I love wine. The reason this wine stands out is its harmony. There's not a hair out of place, and it glides across the palate in a stately manner, not rushing its steps but quickly adopting a measured pace to show you its sophistication and lack of aggression. From its concentration to its purity, the 2022 is as clear glacial water, with flavors of citrus, white talc, lemon curd and pastry. Drink to 2035.

96 points Rebecca Gibb for Vinous, April 2024

The 2022 Dry Riesling leads with white pineapple and Granny Smith apple, scratched lemon and mandarin oil, dried herbs and brine. It is rich and tropical on the nose and utterly alluring. In the mouth, the wine reveals its "not completely dry" reality—or so I think—which is fine, because the residual sugar (five grams?) sits so beautifully in the wine. Yellow-fruited, exotic and capacious, this wine is astoundingly good, no doubt driven by the experience winemaker Paul Pujol gained during his time as winemaker at Kuentz-Bas in Alsace. There are notes of lemon curd, fresh linen and beeswax. Drink to 2042.

95+ points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate

A taut acid spine of citrus and green apple streaks through the middle of this light-weight, off-dry riesling. The flavours are restrained, distinctly cool-climate with a low-intervention lift which softens to honey and lemon curd on the off-dry but tangy finish. An edgy, mineral style with citrus and herbal flavours lingering right to the end, this will develop toasty complexity over the mid-term. Drink to 2034.

94 points Stephen Wong for The Real Review, December 2025

The 2022 Prophet’s Rock Dry Riesling opens with intense and intricate aromas of peach and various citrus fruit supported by light notes of flint and honey. It is light to medium in weight, with harmonious flavours extending evenly across the long palate that is textured, chalky and saline, and finishes with refreshing notes.

Its mineral drive and stone-fruit depth pair naturally with dishes that echo both the citrus and the texture — a yuzu-dressed scallop crudo, a Vietnamese green mango and herb salad with poached prawns, or an Alsace-style tarte flambée with crème fraîche and spring onion.

More about this wine

This Riesling is made from grapes grown in Prophet’s Rock’s Rocky Point vineyard, a schist-dominant steep slope with a northerly aspect. The 2022 vintage was excellent, with near-ideal conditions allowing for considered viticultural and picking decisions.

The grapes were hand harvested and whole bunch pressed over a period of six hours. After an overnight settlement in stainless steel, the juice was transferred into well-seasoned French oak barrels for a slow, three-to-four-month long fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The wine was allowed to ferment to natural dryness levels and left in barrels on lees until bottling before the start of the next vintage, followed by a now customary one-year maturation in bottle before release. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation and was not fined. It was lightly filtered due to small amounts of natural residual sugars (5g/L).

About Prophet’s Rock

Prophet’s Rock was established in the late 1990s and pays homage in its name to a 19th-century gold prospector, capturing the spirit of exploration and discovery.

Winemaker Paul Pujol joined Prophet’s Rock in 2005 and has been instrumental in shaping the approach that is grounded in respect for the natural characteristics of the vineyards and gentle handling of fruit, with minimal intervention at the winery. His CV impresses with experience and knowledge accumulated at the likes of Kuentz-Bas in Alsace and Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé in Bourgogne.