BlankBottle Pat Bird 2021

Tell me this doesn’t look like a white wine bottle and label? It’s Petit Verdot. And that's the thing about Blankbottle - Pieter Walser, the winemaker, intentionally subverts one's expectations of wine by playing with bottle shapes, winemaking techniques, blends and, of course, not mentioning the grape variety on most of his wine labels.

The Wine:

A brooding purpley ruby pour wafting perfumed violets and fresh potpourri, blackberry, blueberry, mulberry, dark plums, kirsch, prickly pear fruit, blueberry ice cream, vanilla, baking spices and dry crackling cigar leaves.

A bigger body backs up the berries and blooms. Bodacious powdery drying tannins had me shaking in my boots. Somewhat soothed by the moreish acidity and bursts of red plums and dark cherries. Brawny, bold and vibrant…but not nearly as pronounced or lingering as the nose. One liner: the gym bro who skips leg day (not that I have any right to comment on fitness!). Second liner: concentration without concentration (on which I am an expert!).

Viti & Vini:

100% PV from two different Stellenbosch sites: lower Helderberg on decomposed granite, and Blaauwklippen Valley. Picked at optimal ripeness, the grapes are chilled overnighr and then destemmed into open top fermenters. Spontaneous fermentation, and skin maceration for as long as possible. Then pressed into older French oak barrels, and matured for 18 months before blending and bottling.

ABV: 14.5% | Acidity: 5.3 g/l | RS: 1.9 g/l | pH: 3.74

Final Thoughts:

Isn’t PV a funny grape? All the dark intensity…so much structure…yet we never really anticipate having to call it in a blind…we just sort of tack it on to a BDX blend when the colour seems right but we’re not feeling plummy Malbec. This may not be my favourite favourite BlankBottle but, as always, tasting and thinking and trying to figure out the variety (coz BB doesn’t name the grape on the label, and I can never remember what I purchase) was the best fun! I landed on a super extracted Syrah. So wrong, but so fun!

Pieter is an engaging storyteller who threads far more poignancy and hilarity in his own words...you should read them!