2021 Rising Pinot Noir 750ml

APPEARANCE
Bright ruby-red.

AROMA
On the nose, there's pomegranate, raspberry, a hint of redskin lolly and a warming sweet cardamom and star anise-like spice.

PALATE
The palate gives way to the sinewy savouriness of Rising's Bad Earth: Wet rock, blue stones, some semi-cured meats; which sit alongside a touch of old-school super fragrant strawberries and that sweet-sour pomegranate thang with lacy tannins gently weaving right the way through. The acid holds it all together, but folds subtly into the background. Svelte with all the right soft bits - this release is plusher than the 2020, but there's no Covid-enhanced dad-bod in sight.

VINIFICATION
Most blocks were separated into smaller ferments so multiple techniques could be applied to each parcel of fruit , e.g., completely destemmed versus 20% whole bunch. Each open pot fermenter was initially wrapped up in the presence of carbon dioxide to let the indigenous yeast do their thing ie, ferment . Once fermenting away, each pot got a gentle pump-over or plunge once a day until sugar dry. Some were pressed at this point, while others were left (wrapped up again) for an extended maceration. The overall blend has approx 10% whole bunch and was on skins for an average of 12 days.

VINTAGE NOTES
Vintage at Rising vineyard started on 23rd February, almost two weeks later than 2020. This later picking was due to mild temperatures and a huge amount of rain through January. These conditions allowed the grapes plenty of time to accumulate lots of flavour whilst retaining moderate alcohols – 12.5 to 13% on average. 2021 was a goldilocks vintage where everything was just right; the resultant wines can be consumed young or cellared for a while—a vintage of balance, energy, and flavour.