Grapes:
100% Pinot Gris
Region:
Marlborough
Winemaker:
Adam Hazeldine
Recommended Food:
Great with seafood - scallops are the perfect match.
Recommended Cellaring:
0-3 years
Production Notes:
Specific parcels of fruit were selected for the 2009 Black Label Pinot Gris. The grapes were harvested and quickly crushed. After settling, 80% of the juice was fermented in tank at various temperatures, and with various yeast, to capture varietal character and maintain freshness. The balance, 20%, was fermented in old French oak to increase the body and complexity of the wine.
Technical Notes:
Alcohol 14.0%
TA 6g/l
pH 3.64g/l
Tasting Notes:
A captivating combination of spicy pear and pink grapefruit introduces the nose. Warm and full fruited with floral notes lifting up from the glass. The entry on the palate is full and generous. Granny smith apples, honey and pear unite beautifully with citrus. It has good length and weight and lovely texture. This is a well-balanced wine with a spicy dry finish with a touch of orange blossom.
Reviews:
"Sold in restaurants, the distinctive 2009 vintage is partly barrel-fermented. Full-bodied, it is vibrant, with rich pear, lychee and spice flavours, good texture, a touch of oak complexity and an unusually dry but finely balanced finish, Fleshy and youthful, it's still unfolding; open mid-2011."
4.5 STARS
-Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines 2011
"A gently fragrant nose displaying citrus, stonefruit and floral characters. The palate is juicy and softly flavoured with good fruit weight and crisp acidity. At its best: now to 2012. On premise only."
-Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb, 2011
"100% Marlborough fruit, 20% fermented in seasoned French oak barrels to 14.0% alc. This has a brilliant lemon hued straw-yellow colour and an intense, piercing and pure nose of white florals, stone-fruits and minerals. Dry to taste, this is tightly constructed and elegant in expression, with aromatic floral fruit flavours and very fine, silky textures. Crisp, steely acidity provides balance to the sweet fruit nuances and the finish is long and sustained. A wine to match with seafood and subtle Asian cuisine over the next 2-4 years."
18/20 POINTS
4 STARS
-RaymondChanWineReviews.co.nz, April 2011
