2008 The Noble Mud Pie - 375ml
Viognier Pinot Gris Marsanne
© Roger Fletcher
Technical Information
Harvest Dates:
22 & 23 April & June 4
Alcohol:
8.5%
Glucose & Fructose:
279 g/L
Titratable Acid:
9.2 g/L
pH:
3.30
Bottling Date:
3 December 2008
Chief Winemaker:
Chester d'Arenberg Osborn
Senior Winemaker :
Jack Walton
The Story Behind The Name
Fourth generation winemaker Chester Osborn confesses to never having really grown up. He’s still making mud pies, concoctions of mushy ingredients using the earth, water and sun. The only difference is that people are now buying them and you can drink them.
The Characteristics
The nose is wonderfully aromatic and perfumed with an unmistakable rose water character that is backed by a raft of fruits including peach, papaya and green mango. Underlying there is an inviting ginger character and a touch of cinnamon and spice.
The palate is intensely lush with rose water followed by yellow peach, strawberry, apricot nectar and Fuji apple. The acidity runs right through the palate with a long finish of orange butter and lemon scented gum honey. There is an enormous amount of complexity and each sip draws out another character. As the wine opens up, the ginger and spice from the nose makes its way to the palate.
Upon release it is fresh and lively, but with careful cellaring the fruit characters will venture into the dried fruit spectrum and it is anticipated that the spicy elements and gingerbread character will play a bigger part.
The Vintage
Good winter and spring rains set the vines up well and encouraged healthy canopies. Warm weather over the Christmas break subsided for an un-seasonally cool late January and early February.
A string of hot days in early March promoted sugar levels much higher than normal. The cool weather returned with a small amount of rain in mid April. This combined with the high sugar levels to promote Botrytis cinerea in the Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale Viognier vineyards.
Owing to the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills the Pinot Gris was still ripening in May. Four consecutive days of rain in mid May and a shower on May 25 set off the Botrytis nicely.
There was enough moisture and sugar to encourage the spread of the noble rot which was most active in the small parcels of Pinot Gris, but not as rampant in the Viognier and Marsanne vineyards, late picking combined with Botrytis infection ensured high sugar levels and concentrated fruit characters.
The Winemaking
Late harvesting took place by hand in small volumes when fruit flavours and the Botrytis cinerea was at an optimal point.
The fruit was gently crushed before receiving a small amount of skin contact. The juice was separated via the gentle process of basket pressing.
Fermentation occurred in a number of small tanks using neutral yeast to cope with the high natural sugar levels and to avoid dominating the fruit characters.
The fermentation stopped naturally, retaining a considerable level of residual sugar.