Andrew Blake, Anna Kingscote, Hamish Kempthorne — Marlborough, New Zealand
Tasting Notes
The 2011 Pinot Gris is an aromatic and elegant wine with spicy floral notes and aromas of poached pear, almond, dry spice with vanilla pod. The palate is intense with tropical stone fruit flavour and a hint of warm brioche. Texturally the wine is supple with luscious fruit sweetness yet it’s also powerful with some alcohol warmth along with a ripe structure, which ensures a finish with persistant flavour.
Winemaking Notes
The fruit comes from three vineyards in the Rapaura area of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. It was harvested within five days
in mid April. The majority of the juice was clarified using flotation and fermented at relatively cool temperatures (12 to 15°C) in stainless steel using selected yeasts chosen to help enhance palate texture and because they ferment steadily at cool temperatures. A small portion was fermented in old French oak barriques creating a broader aroma and flavour profile and giving us an additional blending component.
The wine was left for several months maturation on yeast lees after fermentation intending to add more layers to the aroma and complexity, weight and structure to the palate. A light fining with casein
prepared the wine for bottling in September 2011.
