Riposte Pinot Gris 2024 (12x 750mL) Adelaide Hills, SA

Ripe Pinot Gris grapes are dark dusky pink in colour so the challenge in the winery is to extract the juice without colour pickup. To achieve this the fruit is always kept as cold as possible, crushed quickly and lightly pressed. The juice from the pressing is in two batches. The first is ‘free run’ which is the majority of the juice, while the second, approximately 10%, is called ‘pressings’ and is heavier and much darker in colour.

25% of the free run juice is fermented in French oak, while the balance is fermented in stainless steel to provide a fresh and fruit driven base wine. The pressings are kept separate and oxidised to remove the ‘red’ colour before fermentation in older oak barrels. This provides a rich and textural component to the finished wine.

Finally, the three parcels are combined to give an interesting balance of fruit weight and texture.