Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Rosé 2018

Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Rosé 2018Traditionally made Ros produced from Pinot Noir (65%) and Pinot Gris (35%) juice pressed off after a period of light skin contact and co fermented in tank and barrel. The 2018 vintage has a delicate sea run trout pink color with fragrant raspberry and savory aromas. On the palate the wine is dry with a clean fruitiness and crisp refreshing finish. 2018 was a good year for making Ros. The Pinot Noir was harvested and given 12 hours skin contact in the

Traditionally made Rosé produced from Pinot Noir (65%) and Pinot Gris (35%) juice pressed off after a period of light skin contact and co-fermented in tank and barrel. The 2018 vintage has a delicate sea-run trout pink color with fragrant raspberry and savory aromas. On the palate the wine is dry with a clean fruitiness and crisp refreshing finish.

2018 was a good year for making Rosé. The Pinot Noir was harvested and given 12 hours’ skin contact in the press before pressing and clarifying. It was then blended with hand harvested Pinot Gris which was also given time on its skins in the press. The Pinot Gris adds a fruitiness and a touch of Comice pear-like character to the wine. Both juices were blended together and co-fermented in a mixture of stainless steel tanks and used French oak barrels (15%). The barrel fermented portion is aged on lees and brings more texture and a creamy mouth feel to the wine. Fermentation lasted 14 -21 days at a closely monitored average temperature of 16 degrees Celsius. Winemakers aimed for a relatively long ferment to allow for clean, complex flavors to be exhibited.

The Pinot Noir is planted on the Southern section of the vineyard . This has the highest elevation and provides extra warmth and less frost risk. In addition to this our Pinot Noir is closely planted to reduce vigor resulting in lower crop levels of around 45hl/ha, allowing us to get physiologically ripe fruit and give a true expression of this variety. Our Pinot Noir is all hand tended throughout the season and at harvest. Our mix of Pinot Noir clones were specifically chosen for their flavor profile with 50% of the vineyard planted in Burgundy clones. The parcel selected for Rosé production largely consists of Clone 5 and the Swiss clone Mariafeld. Both have slightly bigger berries and thinner skins. The Pinot Gris is located on a similar hillside face as the Pinot Noir. It consists of Pinot Gris clones Berrysmith, Orvaille and GN 2-21. It is important that the two Pinots are fermented together as they have complimentary roles and some of the phenolics found in Pinot Gris skins help fix color and aromatics in the Pinot Noir.

Food Pairing: The Mt. Beautiful Rosé pairs beautifully with fresh run salmon bake, Thai beef salad and an afternoon by the pool.

Certified Sustainable.