Paxton Organic Pinot Gris 2019/2020

A fruit driven wine designed for drinking young, although careful cellaring will be rewarded.

2019 Vintage was one of the harder vintages we have experienced in many years. Below average rainfall over spring and virtually no rain during summer saw a heavy reliance on irrigation. This together with a severe hail storm in November, the hottest day in South Australia since 2009 and regular maximum temperatures over 36 degree Celcius in February made for some challenges. However, our close proximity to the St Vincent Gulf did help moderate some extreme weather events.

All in all we saw smaller tonnages with more intense flavour in the fruit, due to very little water content in the grapes. Another consistent year for Pinot Gris and Grenache, with early signs the Shiraz will carry great density of fruit flavours.

The fruit was harvested at night when sugar and acid equilibrium was optimum. The grapes were whole berry pressed without crushing or destemming. The juice was racked from the grape solids on the bottom of the tank, and fermented at temperatures between 13-16°C in stainless steel, to encapsulate fruit freshness. Once fermented, the wine lees were regularly mixed into suspension for a four week period, with the aim of building complexity and texture into the wine. The wine was filtered and bottled early in its life to capture the freshness of the variety.