Quartz Reef Single Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Gris 2018

Description

An alluring bouquet of white stone fruit , honey, wild fennel and nutmeg enhanced by a smooth lush texture with a rich yet dry finish. The perfect food wine.

This wine is from a BioGro certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic estate vineyard located in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The vineyard was planted in 1998 after careful site selection. The soils on the beautiful north facing slope are Waenga fine sandy loam and Letts steepland soil with an elevation of 2017 - 264 metres, on 44.55o South.

Winemakers experienced an extraordinary Summer resulting in the hottest growing season ever in Central Otago's modern history. Early flowering and ripening meant their normal six months of growing was condensed into a compact five months. February rain brought relief for the vines and enabled them to achieve physiological ripeness, and warmer than normal nights led to lower acidity. As a result harvest brought forward to achieve optimum balance.

The grapes for this wine were hand-picked in ideal condition and ripeness of the 16th, 19th and 20th March. Whole bunch pressed, minimum settling followed by natural fermentation and aged on yeast lees for 10 months during which full malolactic fermentation occured. Bottled on the 19th February 2019.