Grande Cuvée Blanc de Noir 2018, 13th Street Winery

Description from the Producer

WINEMAKING NOTES Produced only in exceptional vintages, our Grande Cuvee is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from our Whitty Vineyard in Creek Shores. After careful manual harvest, whole bunches of Pinot Noir are put into the press, where the free-run juice is separated and blended with the first gentle press to extract juice without colour or phenolics. After primary fermentation, the wine was then prepared and bottled for secondary fermentation. The wine was aged on lees for a minimum of 72 months, during which the bubbles became smaller and more compact, and autolysis, or the development of toast and bread character, took place. After disgorging, winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas felt the wine was in perfect balance so decided to not add any sugar to the dosage resulting in a classically dry sparkling wine in the zero dosage style. This wine was not exposed to oak and did not undergo malolactic fermentation. VINTAGE NOTES The winter of 2017/2018 was again mild, with an especially warm February, but a cool April with some snow and ice pushed bud-burst back for an average start to the growing season. Once the summer finally started, it was hot and humid, with prolonged periods of extreme heat. Luckily rain started in September, perfect to refresh grapes destined for early picking such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay for sparkling and Pinot Gris and Chardonnay for whites. Unfortunately, the rain did not stop and there was some pressure to pick late ripening whites and early ripening reds before disease set in. Gamay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Merlot had to be sorted in the vineyard and again on sorting tables in the winery to ensure only pristine bunches were kept. The rain finally subsided in late October so late-ripening varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon were harvested in pristine condition. Overall yields were low with intense ripeness in most varieties. Early picked whites are crisp and full of flavour while later picked reds are full-bodied with ripe tannins. Wines will be drinking well on release or can cellar for the medium term.