2023 Pinot Gris
White WineThe Okanagan is one of the few wine growing regions that leads with Pinot Gris, and it’s easy to see why – this quintessential South Okanagan favourite, grown on the western slopes of Oliver and Osoyoos, is generous, fresh and juicy. The Maverick take on this Pinot Gris is in its complexity – one lot is cool fermented in stainless steel tanks, providing a fresh, fruity and vibrant start, and the other was barrel fermented in neutral oak, giving the wine some weight and texture. Delicious!
TASTING NOTES:
Palate is soft and textured due to a small portion of barrel fermentation in neutral/old oak barriques which is new for this year. The result is generous on the nose with stone fruit, baked pear and a fresh palate of bright citrus and juicy apples.
WINEMAKING:
The grapes for this Pinot Gris were hand harvested in mid-September, with some Sauvignon Blanc blended in to give us more freshness in the overall blend. A small portion of the wine was fermented in neutral barrels to give us more complexity and weight. The wine was lightly fined and filtered prior to bottling.
WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS:
The defining moment of the 2023 harvest actually took place in mid-December, 2022, when a cold snap hit the Okanagan causing significant damage to the buds that would produce the next year’s crop. Spring in 2023 was cool, with average bud burst and flowering. Fruit set was extremely low (30-40% of annual average), and lower yield for the vines to ripen meant a quick season. A heat wave in July and then again in August brought some powdery mildew pressure in the vineyard, so the vineyard team worked hard to protect the limited fruit ripening in the vineyard. August though the end of harvest was warm and dry. Harvest was early, starting at the beginning on September, and finished by early October.
NOTES:
Production – 259 cases produced
Alcohol – 12.5%
Varietals – 85% Pinot Gris, 14% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Chardonnay / Semillon
Vinification – hand-picked, pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. A small portion was fermented in neutral oak barrels to give more complexity and weight. Lightly fined and filtered before bottling
Cellaring – cellar up to 5 years