Vin Gris 2008

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2008 Felton Road Vin Gris – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Pinot Noir. Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: A summer bouquet of strawberries and cream and even cherry pie. The flavours, suggestive of its Pinot Noir origin, are encased in a charming and generous mouthfeel. A very pale salmon colour… a uniquely different: frivolous, but not trivial wine! Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms three vineyard properties totaling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity. The season started with good soil moistures after a relatively wet spring. Warm, stable and sunny weather during flowering resulted in a successful fruit set with moderate to large crops. Above average rainfall throughout the summer months led to healthy canopies with a much decreased dependence on irrigation, and in parts of the vineyard with heavier soils, no irrigation for the whole growing season. Cool night time temperatures leading up to the harvest slowed the ripening so that harvest proceeded over a 4 week period starting on March 25. The harvest period was very dry and the fruit was, as usual, in very good condition. Vintage was thankfully completed by April 23 after which the weather turned very cold with unseasonal snow in the vineyards and heavy rain at the end of April. Vinification: Vin Gris (vahn gree) is made from 100% free-run Pinot Noir juice and is only produced in certain vintages. The slightly larger berry size and bunches from some parts of the vineyard prompted us to pull a saignée of about 10% on some of our Pinot Noir, resulting in this Vin Gris. Free-run juice is taken from the Pinot Noir fermenters immediately following destemming in order to concentrate the remaining fruit. This very short skin contact time results in the very pale salmon/copper colour of the Vin Gris. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeast followed by complete malolactic fermentation and ageing on the gross lees to build palate weight and complexity.