Tohu Awatere Valley Pinot Gris 2021

TASTING NOTES This fruit-driven Pinot Gris from Marlborough’s Awatere Valley displays aromas of orange blossom and juicy pear. On the palate flavours of fresh quince and crisp golden apple blend seamlessly with hints of sweet spice. With integrated fine phenolics and smooth acidity, this is a fresh and richly textured wine with a long and lingering finish.

Grapes sourced from a number of prime sites in the Awatere Valley are gently pressed once at the winery to obtain clear free-run juice, with the harder pressings kept separate and allowed to oxidise to soften phenolics before being re-combined with the free-run. The juice is then settled and racked into stainless steel tanks for warming and inoculation with carefully selected yeasts. The fermentation is carried out at cool temperatures of around 10-13°C to help preserve the fruity characters and lasts around 21 days until stopped when the balance of residual sugar and acidity/phenolics is judged by our Winemaker to have reached the ideal point. Post-ferment the wine is held in tank and matured for a short period of time before being stabilised ready for bottling. With no additional finings judged necessary, this wine was ready for bottling in October 2020.