A new wave and the next big thing? Been around forever actually. Great Pinot Gris can only come from fine vineyards. There are two distinctive styles in Australia, zippy with lemon freshness and crisp acidity or the richer, textural, full bodied type. Both share an attractive mineral element that adds complexity. For all you
anything but chardonnay drinkers, here's a generously flavoured white, derived from red coloured grapes, crisp and refined, born and bred for food, goes great with charcouterie, fresh seafoods or highly spiced cuisine.
At its best, Pinot Gris it is like a fingerprint, inextricably linking the personality and mood of the land from which it has sprung. Innocent Bystander comes from the upper Yarra, where cool summer temperatures lead to fresh crunchy acidity and great aromatics. Due to the higher altitude of sites, fruit is harvested later in the season. Grapes are completely hand picked and whole bunch pressed, free runs are separated and batches are treated principally to wild yeast with some interesting Alsace isolates for complexity. Half are sent to fermenters and vinified at lower than 17ËšC, the balance is filled to seasoned French oak barrels and vinified at 20ËšC to 24ËšC, followed by assemblage and early bottling.
Medium straw hue. Honeysuckle, preserved ginger and cardamon nose, pithy lemons and grapefruit skin, freshly cut white pears and a hint of white joobs. Like fresh rain on beach rocks. Crisp like biting into a fresh green apple. Tight with a melting acidity that lingers like cottage lemonade. A really lively palate with a solid flick of crisp citrus. It will become your best table mate, sublime with sashimi or goat's curd bruchetta.
