Mistral 2015 - Library Wine

“Mistral” is one of the prevailing winds of the French Rhone Valley, the native home of these powerful and aromatic grapes. Varieties which love to grow on one of our hottest block with sandy and gravelly soils. This year was a beautiful warm, dry summer which consistency proved a perfect growing season for us. We were rewarded with beautiful healthy grapes which we picked at perfect physiological ripeness at an extremely low yield of 500g/vine.

The clean perfect fruit enables a cold maceration (extended skin contact) to extract compounds from the fruit flesh, pulp, skins and seeds into the must for a fruit-forward and complex wine with increased aromatic and colour intensity. (Without extracting any unwelcome taints from imperfect grapes which show as defected aromas and funky smelling when making natural wines.) Such pure must allowed for a long, cool wild yeast fermentation in one new and one used French oak puncheon continuing to a natural malolactic fermentation and maturing on its fine lees for the next 18 months. I added a small amount of sulphur as a preservative to protect the wine from oxidizing and there is no fining or filtering to maintain its purity and flavours and natural sediment may show. Vegan wine.

Lose yourself in the delightful bouquet of elderflower, fresh pear and stone fruits with a humble kick of lemon rind. This complex blend has a refreshing mineral backbone with magnificent depth and richness, followed by a long lasting smooth finish which keeps on giving.