Craven Pinot Gris 2019
I save all my wine photos into folders named White, Rosé and Red etc. This one had me confused. Here’s why…
The Wine:
Pale tangerine doesn’t even begin to explain the beautiful coppery rooibos tea, rose colour! Medium nose of juicy white peaches, cherries, watery strawberries, ripe apples, nectarines with maybe a trace of white pepper in the distance?
Dry, high acidity and light bodied, with grippy but light tannins! Nectarines plus a little dried apricot...but very much led by a deceptive raspberry jellybaby flavour. The tannins start to take over, before settling into a longer-than-expected finish where the stone fruits that, just before they disappear, peek their head around the corner for a cheeky wave.
Vini + Viti:
Stellenbosch fruit that has been de-stemmed and fermented dry, on their skins, in open top fermenters for seven days. Treated like a red wine, light pump overs or punch downs are done throughout fermentation. They are then pressed to old barrels.
Conclusion:
Balance (1) + Length (1) + Intensity (½) + Complexity (½) = A good wine.
Drink now, but has potential for a little bit of further ageing. I'd drink it sooner rather than later.
Final Thoughts:
This is seriously lekker. The colour was a total surprise! The softness was a total surprise! The yum factor from Craven - not surprising at all.
I wish I could taste this all over again blindfolded. What do you think? Should this photo be stored under white or rosé? I eventually decided to save this in the rosé folder. Gris de Gris is what this wine is. The grapes are naturally rosy hued and so, along with the longer skin contact, I think this counts as rosé wine.
