Man O’ War Estate Pinot Gris is grown on a number of vineyards on both Ponui Island and Waiheke Island, all elevated hillside sides which are exposed to the cooling breezes coming off the Pacific ocean.
The Pinot Gris is all hand harvested and is must pumped to the press for a long slow press cycle into tank and fined for clarity. The juice is then racked clear and fermented cool with selected Riesling yeasts until the right balance of sugar, acid and tannin is tasted and at that point the fermentation is stopped by chilling to below zero. The wine is then held in the cellar at cold temperature to retain as much natural carbon dioxide left over from the fermentation as possible to provide a light spritz in the wine.
Tasting Notes
The 2020 vintage was a fairly epic season, a hot summer and very, little rainfall producing grapes on huge intensity, in fact the challenge was to produce a white wine with elegance in what was a essentially a drought. The Estate 2020 Pinot gris from Man O’ War is intensely aromatic with citrus and pear that matches perfectly with a crisp vibrant palate, very well balanced with good acidity and natural residual sugar retained from the fermentation. An awesome wine to drink alone or with friends... your choice.