WOOLLASTON WOOLLASTON BURKE'S BANK PINOT GRIS 2007
A complex nose with poached pear, ginger and quince. The silky texture encapsulates the same ensemble of pear, quince and ginger spice. A fine backbone of minerality and subtle residual sweetness complete the package and result in a lingering finish.
Technical Information
WINEMAKING NOTES Hand harvested grapes were whole bunch pressed. A gentle slow pressing program was used to extract juice whilst minimising astringent harshness. The juice was cold settled overnight then racked, as clear juice before inoculation for fermentation. Fermentation temperatures were kept cool to conserve the fruit aromas in the wine. The ferment was stopped to preserve a balance of residual sugar that naturally balances the acidity and structure of the wine. The finished wine was bottled using gravity.
PH 3.57 RS 3.9 G/L TA 4.9 G/L ALC 15.4 %
VITICULTURE Pruned to 2 cane vertical shoot positioned (VSP). The vines had a light leaf pluck and trim to ensure the canopy was kept open and light. Bunch thinning, at fruit set, was carried out to balance the crop weight to the vines capacity to ripen fruit. The fruit was hand harvested.
Awards & Reviews
Bob Campbell, Aug 08 Classy Pinot Gris with pear juice, anise and an exotic tropical flower note that I find hard to put a label on. Underpining these subtle yet sustained flavours is a a fine backbone of minerality. Medium/dry and dangerously drinkable. 90 points.
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sept 08 The nose is elegant and fine showing stone fruits, pears and subtle spice with a hint of mineral. It’s juicy on the palate with fine texture and balanced acidity leading to a lingering clean finish. A drier style of Pinot Gris, making this a lovely food partner. At its best: now to 2101. 4.5 stars
Charles Gill, The Daily News, Sept 08 For a complex and vibrant bouquet, followed by a rich and concentrated mouthful of ripe fruit, try Woollaston from Nelson. Both their Burke’s Bank and Tussock Nelson Pinot Gris from 2007 are excellent.
John Hawkesby, NZ Herald, 17 May 08 Nelson vineyard producing a silky, textured wine with fine minerality. Poached pear, quice and ginger. Great value.
Yvonne Marie Lorkin, Hawke’s Bay Today, 3 May 2008 I’d like a fridge full of this please! Dried pears, hints of quince, stonefruit and gingerbread on the nose indicate sweetness to come, yet the wine is crisp, fruit-driven and refreshing as well as being fat and full on the palate. Great length of flavour and simply gorgeous with roast pork swimming in apple sauce. There’s not much available so you’ll have to be quick.
Graeme Barrow Nelson wine, rich, dry and forward with soft acidity, pear, apple and spice aromas and flavours.
Sue Courtenay, Wine of the Week, 11 Feb 2008 For a much more lush, full-bodied style, then it's hard to go past this week's Wine of the Week, Woollaston Estate Burkes Bank Pinot Gris 2007 with grapes sourced from the company's Burkes Bank vineyard on the gravelly soils of the Waimea Plains, further south east. With clean, rich, fruity aromatics, it's nicely rounded in the mouth with fruit salad, pear, apricot and perhaps even a hint of botrytis adding complexity to the mouth filling finish. It's a wine of length and power that is even better the following day with peach, delicate spice and a hint of honey. The wine is almost bone dry with only 3.9 grams per litre of residual sugar, but it the low acidity, just 4.9 g/l, and the alcohol sweetness that makes it seem so heady and lush. My score 18.75/20. Wouldn't you know it, when I checked the Woollaston website, I find that only 95 cases of this wine were made with only 40 cases available to Cellar Door and mail order @ $22 a bottle (plus freight). The rest is being exported but it's excellent that elsewhere in the world people may have the opportunity to experience the taste.
Neil Hodgson, Nelson Mail, 13 Nov 2007 The 2007 Bank Pinot Gris shows early signs of developing similar characters to the 06 version but with even greater flavour intensity. The aromas are dominated by soft ginger tones, with ripe pear and quince characters in a supporting role. Spending some time resting on yeast lees has added body and concentration to flavours of pear and quince with some ginger spice again. This wine had been bottled less than a month when I tasted it so it will develop into an outstanding wine with a little more time in the bottle.
Food & Wine
Chicken & pear salad, pork with apple, hard cheeses (eg pecorino, parmesan), avocado, Thai dishes, smoked/cured fish
