Analysis:
Alcohol: 13.5% | PH: 3.40 | Titratable acidity: 5.18 g/L
Bottling Date: February/March 2022
Cellaring: 3 years
Tasting Notes:
A fresh, fruit driven, intense and classic Pinot Gris showing notes of pear, honeydew melon and lemon along with some complex apple blossom, lemon zest, lime leaf and subtle mango and papaya tropical notes. Dry with crisp acidity and vibrant green apple and pear, blood orange and nectarine along with a hint of clove spice and stony minerality that linger through a long finish. Pair with chicken roasted with preserved lemon or Halibut ceviche.
Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
After a mild winter, the 2021 growing season got underway with early bud break occurring in March followed by timely fruit set. 2021 will be remembered as a very hot year with record-breaking temperatures in late June. Less frequent cooler nights coupled with the heat led to efforts to retain acidity in the grapes by picking earlier. While yields were somewhat impacted by the exceptional temperatures, phenolic ripeness was more easily achieved in the grapes harvested.
The Pinot Gris grapes for this wine were harvested between September 15th and October 9th of 2021. We prefer the traditional method of hand harvesting so as to preserve the integrity of each berry. With the same spirit, the grapes were gently pressed “whole cluster” and the juice released was transferred via gravity flow, mostly into stainless steel tanks for a temperature-controlled fermentation of 9 - 19 °C. Two percent of the juice was fermented in 100% French neutral oak barrels, undergoing malolactic fermentation, followed by 3 months of ageing to add complexity to the finished wine. The wine was then blended with minimal handling before bottling occurred just before the arrival of spring.
