Viticulture

This vintage the Pinot Gris was managed in a similar way to our Pinot Noir. Canopy management with good but not excessive fruit exposure was important. The vines were shoot thinned prior to flowering and on veraison a vigorous crop thinning was carried out to balance the crop. The resulting yield was reduced to 2.5 tonnes/ acre, the equivalent of 40hl/ha
The Staete Landt Pinot Gris consists of two small parcels of vines grown in two areas of the vineyard that have higher depth of soil and less river gravel than the rest of the vineyard.

Harvest Dates: 23 April 2004
Brix: 25.3

Winemaking

The grapes were hand picked when they had reached optimum ripeness and flavour development. This occurs just before the berries begin to slightly raisin. They were then loaded directly to the press and gently whole bunch pressed.
The resultant juice was settled for twelve hours only and fermented with a proportion of solids in old oak puncheons.
A portion of the wine (25%) went through the secondary malo lactic fermentation to enhance texture and complexity. The wine aged in that oak on very light lees for nine months. The wine was subsequently racked again prior to a light filtration and bottling.

Wine Analysis

Alcohol: 14 % ; Acidity: 4.9 g/l ; pH: 3.7; Sugar: 1 g/l

Tasting Note

This is a full-bodied, complex dry wine. It is a lovely example of the varietal. It is full round and ripe in the mouth with fresh guava and papaya aromas combined with intriguing hazelnut complexity. It has excellent length and vinosity.

This wine is very approachable whilst young but will change and become more complex over the next five years.