Seems like the first Verdelho I’ve tried in some time. Just checked, last one was 13th February 2022.
Please excuse the photo, didn’t have a labelled bottle so I did my best and yes the cute little bird is now black but I became quite nostalgic!
The four different juice batches were together cold settled and fermented in stainless steel tank at around 15°C. It was inoculated with commercial yeast to amplify fruity and fresh aromas.
A young very light straw in the glass. The yeast has produced the desired effects with some quite lovely lifted redolences wafting from the wine, tropical fruits and citrus, rather zesty with a little fruit stone. There is also a yeasty, bready, brioche aspect.
The palate is quite racy with some genuine verve and a slight unctuous quality underlies this. Gooseberry, ginger, nashi pears, green apples, limes, mandarins and a little grapefruit all present with a dazzling and tantalising dance that produces an elevated excitement to your taste buds. An excellent young Verdelho, I would love to try this with some seafood or spicy Thai, come on summer.
Tasted: Saturday 10th August, 2024 without food and then with over several hours.
Alcohol: 12.8%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: Not yet released, $36 – unconfirmed so I’ve just displayed the 2023 price.
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 – 2028
Winemaker: Andy Williams
Fruit Source: Hand Picked from Andelas Vineyard and Robert Channon. Some Machine Harvested from Sirromet and St. Judes Vineyard
Fruit pH: 3.57
Residual Sugar: 0.17g/L
