> Review this wine
The huge interest in Pinot Gris continues, as wine drinkers around the world come to appreciate the structure and finesse of this variety which allow it to complement fish and other seafood, but also to provide a perfect foil to Asian cuisine, chicken, pork and lamb dishes.
Having produced our 6th vintage of the variety, we feel we are coming to understand how we can achieve a refined and harmonious wine based on our preferred Alsation benchmark.
The latest accolade is to be listed as one of the country's top 10 Pinot Gris producers in Cuisine Magazine's 100th Issue proclaiming the top 100 New Zealand wines. Bob Campbell notes in the 2003 Cuisine Wine Country: "Brick Bay (has) earned rapid acclaim with a concentrated and very stylish Pinot Gris that has earned many accolades since the first release from the 1998 vintage.
"Michael Cooper also commented in his recently published Wine Atlas of New Zealand: "Brick Bay . . . one of New Zealand's finest Pinot Gris at its best, weighty, rich and soft, in the classic Alsace mould."
*See STOP PRESS in NEWS page for U.S. accolade.
In the Vineyard
Although summer was late arriving, February 2003 settled into a hot, dry month with the vines carrying a well-balanced crop loading. Two dramatic rain events late February/early March dashed hopes of the perfect vintage and we sustained 40% crop losses.
Nevertheless, our viticultural team worked hard stripping off leaves around each bunch to optimise sunlight penetration, allowing only perfect bunches to continue ripening on the vine. Because of our commitment to harvesting fruit with great flavour intensity, we know our cropping levels must be kept low, although demand vastly exceeds our production.
In the Winery
The handpicked fruit arrived at the winery in temperature-controlled conditions, then underwent whole bunch pressing before starting a cool fermentation in stainless steel. A small proportion of the wine was aged in oak barrels for a short period to add a further layer of complexity to the wine, but generally the intensity of fruit flavours achieved in the vineyard carried the wine with minimum intervention. The wine was then bottleaged for 7 months before release.
Harvest date: 19 March 2003
Bottling date: 24 July 2003
Composition: 100% Pinot Gris single vineyard fruit
Alcohol: 13.5%
TA: 6.8g/l
pH: 3.4
Quantity produced: 160 dozen
TASTING NOTES
Pale straw in colour, this elegant wine offers delicate aromas of pear, quince and stonefruit. The weighty palate exhibits the varietal oily texture with honeyed peach and pear flavours. Brick Bay Pinot Gris 2003 is a well-balanced harmonious wine with a lingering finish. Dependant on cellaring conditions, this wine will continue to develop over the next 3-4 years.
The 1998 and 1999 have just about finished their useful life, but the 2000 is showing interesting aged Riesling characteristics. The 2001 continues to drink well while the 2002 exhibits a wonderful weight and richness.
