From the winemaker…
This aromatic, concentrated wine retains remarkable freshness and balance through the drying process. This balance of concentration and acidity make it a wonderful food match with a wide range of cheeses, pâtés, and desserts. Drinking well in its youth, this wine will also cellar for an extremely long time.
This ancient approach to making dessert wine was extensively researched and first made at Prophet’s Rock in 2016. Since then, it has become a very small but iconic part of our range. Written records of this wine style go back to at least 800 BC. A reference cool-climate region still producing this style is the Jura in France, which Paul visited as part of the research phase.
The grapes are hand-picked from the two Prophet’s Rock estate vineyards in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The principal source is the Rocky Point Vineyard with its warm, free draining, predominantly schist soils and some of the steepest planted blocks in Central Otago.
Extensive canopy and crop management is carried out during the growing season to ensure the grapes attained full physiological ripeness with great concentration, aromatics, and flavour. Yields on both sites are kept very low and do not exceed 35hl/ha or 4.5t/ha.
The handpicked fruit is then dried on racks for an average of over two months. Extensive sorting and rotation of the fruit takes place over this time. The naturally dehydrated grapes are then slowly whole-bunch pressed and fermented using only indigenous ‘wild’ yeast. The long, slow fermentation (up to 13 months) takes place in neutral oak barrels and the wine is matured on its yeast lees until bottling. The wine is bottled under Diam cork.
Serve at 6-8 degrees Celsius
Sweet and complex with bright melon, citrus and peach notes. Viscous but also very fresh with lovely texture and depth, and a slightly spicy finish. Covers so many areas of the flavour spectrum. 95/100, Jamie Goode
Light straw hue: off-white, a true pinot gris colour. The bouquet is spicy and gently honeyed, with a fresh green herb overlay, the combination being highly appealing. The palate is medium-sweet and light to medium-weighted, the sweetness moderate and the finish clean and refreshing. A lovely wine in a medium-sweet, intense, subtly rich style that probably finds its closest relative in Jurançon. 95/100, Huon Hooke
What we think…
Fresh pear, ripe apple and honey combine with a racy acidity, an outstanding match with cheese, foie gras and fruity desserts
