Confirms Andy Johnston’s years of insisting that the Island is the place for Pinot may well be coming true. Forward notes of dark berries and leather hints followed by a layered palate with black cherry and tobacco; complex savoury notes wrapped in silky tannins through the close.
Named for grower Jeff Gower, this is a Lenswood Pinot Noir, flush with black plum, dusky cherry, wild blackberry, with wild mushrooms, big flake salts on a juicy, muscular, frame. Root beer scoots throughout, as does a cola note, right up to the spicy finish. Hard to call this Pinot fleshy at 12.8%, but tasted next to the skinny Skin n' Bones, that visual comes to mind. Youthful, with presence, finesse and longevity. Clones 117, 114, 115 were 90% whole bunch pressed and spent 1 month on skins before resting in Vosges-sourced oak (1/4 new).
Pale yellow. Faint nose with notes of citrus, hints of white flowers. Light body, simple taste in the pleasant and round mid-palate. Nice finish with fruity pear notes. Drink up.
A well-priced Beaujolais cru. Purple-black in colour with a floral, black-cherry nose; light and fresh, fruity but firm. Easy drinking. Chill lightly.
Sourced from the home estate, all stainless steel fermented. Orchard and tropical fruits on the nose before a well-textured and generous but structured palate of citrus and hints of pineapple through a juicy finish. Good value.
Hints of rose petal and lychee define this riper-styled Gewürz from a very warm year, before a palate of bright, lush tropical notes. A touch of ginger and floral hints wrapped in a luscious, lingering package with extra heft from 25% fermented in neutral oak.
A classic Bordeaux blend showing elegant plum and cherry character with a complex panoply of spices, solid tannic structure, good overall balance and a light splash of chocolate. Give it another 3 years to soften tannins and acidity.