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2023 Pinot Gris

$32.00

‘Rougissant’

2023 Petaluma Gap Pinot Gris

Hand Picked, Hand Sorted.  Fermented and aged in stainless steel after three hours on the skins.  Bottled unfined.  Gorgeous white wine with a slight golden rose color, its floral and peachy nose leads into almond and bright nectarine flavors.  100 cases made.

Category:
6 Bottle Discount - 10%

Rougissant’ is french for ‘blushing’ and the name of a red iris in Europe.  We thought the name was appropriate for our deliciously unique pinot gris. This wine (back when we were submitting wines for points) consistently scored over 90 points in national magazines and was even included in Sonoma’s Top 100 wines by Sonoma Magazine.

The grapes come from a south block of the organically farmed Keller Estate in the Southern Petaluma Gap, supplemented by a small amount from our newer pinot gris vines on our estate vineyard in Western Petaluma.  Many people don’t realize that pinot gris is actually a red grape with thick skin.  To extract as much flavor potential as possible, we macerate the juice with the skins for three hours before pressing.  This gives the wine more complexity and a slight golden rose color.  The wine was then fermented and aged in stainless steel for 6 months before being bottled unfined.  The result is a lush and delicious wine with apricot, nectarine, and pear flavors and a nose of light lavender and peaches.  The intensity of the 2023 vintage shines in the thick layers of floral aromas in this wine – with a long finish of mellow and bright acidity.

’23 was one of the longest vintages and latest harvests in recent California history, with a generally cool summer and few heat spikes. These conditions forced growers to let fruit hang longer on the vine, producing gorgeous and classic wine from what many critics are calling one of the best vintages of this century. The long hang-time increased the complexity of the grapes’ flavor, but also gave the grapes incredible color in the skins (our zinfandel had more color than I’ve ever seen in 18 years). This was also true for the pinot gris: which is a deep golden rose/peach color this year, maybe more so than any time we’ve ever produced this wine.

Weight 3 lbs
Price

$26