The fruit is handpicked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. Between 40 to 50% of the fruit will be destemmed and then cold soaked for four days. We use only natural yeast for the fermentation process, which takes roughly 19 days. Grape-stomping (known as pigeage) will occur two to three times a day depending on the amount of extraction required, and the wine is then placed in 50 to 60% new Allier barrels by gravity. It’s racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled.
A bouquet of absolute intrigue and undergrowth from an extremely fresh and high natural acidity vintage. The elegant yet savoury power that we’re growing to love from the Côte Vineyard wines is showing once again from both the Pinot and the GC Chardonnay. The palate is lengthy and layered. It is a Pinot that keeps giving with every minute in the glass. This is one of the great Pinots we have made, with fantastic ageing potential. - Nick Farr
The RP presents a nose that is disarmingly pretty, pure and integrated, a compactness that belies its complexity. Roses, cake spices and sweet red fruit - strawberry sorbet, cherry and cranberry - are immediately apparent, with a suggestion of peach and an exotic note, too. Good oak in the background. With air, fennel and terracotta emerge. The attack is juicy and inviting. The bright fruit has a just-picked freshness and immediacy, and the tannins seem to glisten with a suggestion of cinnamon sugar. It has the line and length of precise Chardonnay, like an arrow through the palate shooting very long and pure. It's medium-bodied, lithe and even, with sweet spices, saltiness and sour cherry settling on superfine, suede tannins long after the liquid has flowed through. A beautifully composed, harmonious Pinot that is so good to drink that you almost overlook the detail. – Ed Merrison, CellarHand