Poppy Pinot Grigio 2021
Tasting Notes
Poppy is light and fresh, with a gentle hint of nashi pear and citrus, and a clean smooth palate and finish. It is superb when served chilled as an aperitif or with light pasta dishes and mild cheeses.
VEGAN FRIENDLY
Vintage
Good winter and early spring rains were followed by a generally dry and mild growing season. After the leaner vintages of 2019 and 2020 it was nice to see a return to long term average crop levels. We had a slow and steady ripening period without any excessive heat spikes which has resulted in super varietal fruit intensity and balanced natural acidity.
A Mary Poppins kind of vintage; practically perfect! Joch is always loathe to comment favourably about vintage quality, for fear of jinxing things – he can be superstitious like that, but by the end of harvest, the word ‘exceptional’ was heard to come out of his mouth.
Winemaking
Joch made Poppy as a Grigio rather than a Gris, which means we wanted a light fresh style of white wine – the Italian, rather than the Alsace interpretation of the grape. To do this, we picked the grapes early at about 12 degrees beaumé and fermented them cool in a stainless steel tank. Poppy did not spend time in oak at all. The Pinot Grigio is another style of wine, like the ‘Forget-me-not’ Sauvignon Blanc Semillon where Joch has to use his subtle side. Not often seen, we might add.
Other Vintages
Technical Details
Picking Date: 2nd February 2021
Alc/Vol: 12.5%
Bottling Date: 28th April 2021