Sunday, January 3, 2010

Pied Stilt 2009 Pinot Gris


Owned by Ross and Faith Jackson Pied Stilt is one of the newest players in the wine market in the Nelson region and they are having a huge amount of fun (mixed in with the hard work) selling wine under their own (and very cool) label for the first time.

The Jacksons have been growing grapes on their Motueka vineyard for others for several years and have entered the market with a couple of great offerings, a 2009 Pinot Gris ($16.95) and 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($14.95). Both of these wines are at the lower end of the alcohol range for off-dry wines (about 12.5%) and in this alcohol range we often see either quite sweet characters or slightly green, unripe flavours in the wine - but not here. Instead they have managed to achieve great balance between ripeness, alcohol and residual sugars.
Pied Stilt 2009 Pinot Gris
Initial aromas of apples and pears in the aromas open up to include spiced quince tones. The medium weight palate has a mineral backbone, is fruity without being a ‘fruit bomb’ and eases into a soft citrus finish. A beautifully crafted wine that is perfect with sweet Nelson scallops.

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