
Wine Specs
Vintage
2021
Bad Earth Pétillant Naturel
Tasting Notes
A sparkling citrusy, lemongrass-y drink with Vietnamese mint leaf, some sweet
yeasty bread dough characters - contributing a sweet yeastiness. A faint lick of
guava on a palate dominated by fresh pear and lemon/ lime Splice; the mousse
is creamy, the acid refreshing. If sherbet were a drink, this would be da Sherbet
bomb.
Vintage
Vintage at Rising vineyard started on 23rd February with Gewurztraminer, almost 2 weeks later than vintage 2020. This later picking was due to mild temperatures and a huge amount of rain through January. These conditions allowed the grapes plenty of time to accumulate lots of flavour while still retaining moderate alcohols – 12.5 to 13% on average. 2021 was a goldilocks vintage where everything was just-right, and the resultant wines can be consumed young or cellared for a while. A vintage of balance, energy, and flavour.
Vineyard
Now, this is fun. Single vineyard - Rising St Andrews. Six blocks hand harvested
over three picks – Gewurztraminer (5%), Musk-clone Chardonnay (15%), Savagin
(22%), Bernard 76 Chardonnay (20%), Semillon (30%) and Sauvignon blanc (8%).
From parcels the breadth and width of the vineyard. The Sauvignon parcel is so
tiny it doesn’t qualify for a mention on the map. These picks spanned almost four
weeks, from 23rd February to 18th March.
Vinification
Although six blocks at the Rising vineyard contributed fruit to this wine, there
were only three ferments – Gewurztraminer/Chardonnay, Savagnin/Chardonnay
and Semillon/Sauvignon blanc (three field blends in one wine!). The four weeks
between the first of these picks and the last, gave the first two batches time to
ferment to dryness and settle somewhat before blending. All the batches were
barrel fermented before being blended in tank. The Semillon/Sauv blanc which
was last to be picked, was blended with the other batches prior to the completion
of primary ferment, thus contributing residual sugar to the blend. The wine
completed ferment in bottle to create pure, fizzy deliciousness.