NGERINGA UNCULTURED 2019 Pétillant Naturel

”A delicious lightly fizzy drop for the summer. One bottle is rarely enough"- Erinn Klein, Winemaker

This lightly bubbly rose has a delicious nose of exotic flowers and musk, pithy grapefruit, blood orange and citrus blossom. On the pallet there it is a summery mixed fruit salad experience, that is light, refreshingly fruity yet with a dry finish.

Pétillant Naturel (Pet Nat) is essentially farmhouse champagne - sparkling wine made in the méthode ancestrale without the addition of extra yeasts or sugars. Made from five varietals grown across both Ngeringa properties:  An exotic blend of Viognier from the sparkling micaceous soils of our Nairne Iluma Vinyeard; Pink Semillon and Chardonnay from the easterly-facing slopes of the Summit Vineyard; and early picked shiraz and pinot noir.

VINTAGE NOTES

The winter and spring of 2018 were even drier and warmer than the previous season, so much so that we gave our vines a supplementary irrigation before Christmas – a rare occurrence!
We did have two significant storms though, not in terms of precipitations volume but rather their consequence of severe wind and hail during vine’s flowering period in early and mid November. The result of these storms was crops being down by 40 to 60% across all varieties. The result, a very small harvest, which in my mind, does not always produce fine, balanced wines. Low yields can often give higher concentration but at the expense of complexity. That said, we are delighted with the Pet Nat in bottle at this early stage and likewise most wines in barrels are very vibrant and concentrated heading into spring.

WINEMAKING NOTES

Our Pét Nat contains most of the varietals we grow. A small amount of Pinot Gris and Gewürz are co-fermented. The rest are harvested and fermented separately in small batches. Viognier and Pink Semillon see a short period on skins. The four above-mentioned are aromatic varieties, which we pick at moderately high ripeness to add to the aromatic lift of these wines. The Syrah (picked as Rose), Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are picked quite early to bring freshness and acidity to the balance of this wine. Our Pét Nat is bottled without the addition of any SO2 - or anything else for that matter!

Wild fermentation, no enzymes, gentle extraction, minimal temperature control. No fining. Estate bottled.

(SKU: NG_PET_19)