PART TWO: PINOT GRIS
This years Pinot gris represents a return to form for me, or more so a return to the style I like more. For those of you who liked the 2010 vintage then you are in for a treat with 2013. It has taken me a few years of experimentation to finally settle on a style and learn how best to work the vineyard to produce that style. So all is looking good with the whites from 2013.
Harvest: 21st and 28th of September
1090-1092 density
3,10-3,21 pH
7,9-9,3g/l acid
Whole bunch pressed directly into older french oak barriques. Extraction approx 520 litres per tonne. Wild fermentation. Just one of the ten barrels has not finished fermentation yet 🙂 I have never been a big fan of Pinot gris as a variety, in fact I outright dislike it, often I find them to be very fat and oily, lacking acidity, and see it as an overly phenolic variety. Lets just say its not a very subtle variety. I have always produced wines that are more near to Chardonnay than Pinot gris. Not that I am trying to make Chardonnay from Pinot gris grapes, but more that I believe that Pinot gris is best honoured when produced in a more elegant style. One important aspect of doing this in my opinion is to press very gently, and have low extraction. The more you press the more nasty Pinot gris characters you get in the wine 🙂
Summary: Remember 2010?