Just when you thought it was over, our latest ever vintage
Late in the season, on the 16th of May to be precise, we brought in our final lot, a very small patch of old Grenache, we could not resist, and as a result the season has been extended by another 2 weeks. Andrew assures me that we will be done by the end of May. Still too early to know how this specific batch of Grenache will turn out as a red wine, but we did take the opportunity to make what will become 300 bottles of Grenache Rose.
Andrew loves his rose. Earlier in his winemaking career he spent time in the South of France making rose. I can be a little partial to it in the warmth of summer, so we decided to go ahead with what will be a very traditional 'French style', 12 hours on skins, short warm ferment to full dryness in a barrel with the head knocked out before being returned to an older barrel for a few months. Look out for it in the 2017 Spring.