Gamay Rosé 2023
CREEK ROAD VINEYARD
Made with Gamay from the Creek Road Vineyard, this rosé all about bringing together expression of site, grape variety, and technique. Hand harvested grapes, whole cluster pressing, saignée, and blending in a splash of Sauvignon Blanc (from the same site!) make this a stylish and fresh rosé. The different components were blended and allowed to integrate for a few months before bottling. Crisp, fruity, textured, and complex, the wine is perfect for any occasion.
GAMAY Rosé 2023
CRISPINO VINEYARD
Made with Gamay from the Creek Road Vineyard, this rosé all about bringing together expression of site, grape variety, and technique.
Hand harvested grapes, whole cluster pressing, saignée, and blending in a splash of Sauvignon Blanc (from the same site!) make this a stylish and fresh rosé.
The different components were blended and allowed to integrate for a few months before bottling. Crisp, fruity, textured, and complex, the wine is perfect for any occasion.
SENSORY PROFILE
Pale pink colour with aromas of fresh strawberry, cherry, and raspberry, as well as grapefruit zest and flowers. On the palate the wine is bright and lively with refreshing acidity, adding a distinct guava note to flavours that match the nose. Substantial volume and weight carry the wine leading to a long and textured finish.
FOOD PAIRINGS
This is a big wine that can stand on its own, or pair with a variety of foods from BBQ to white fleshed fish, or for something lighter try a strawberry and goat cheese salad.
CELLARING POTENTIAL
This wine is enjoyable young, but also has great aging potential due to the acid and tannin structure. Drink from release until at least 2029.
VINTAGE
The 2023 growing season started with an early budbreak and a frost risk in May. June and July followed with a lot of wet and warm weather that resulted in higher than average disease pressure. July and August presented a new challenge to us in Niagara, with wildfire smoke filling the skies reducing our sunlight hours and keeping daytime temperatures down.
The light crop load in 2022 and sunny spring of 2023 gave a high cluster count on the vines, but cluster weights were average to smaller due to the poor weather at flowering.
September and October brought perfect harvest conditions during the critical months and winemakers were able to make harvest decisions according to the vineyard and desired wine styles. The fruit and resulting wines from the 2023 vintage show very ripe characters, excellent balance, and ability to express site and terroir.
WINE DATA
Variety: 91% Gamay Noir, 9% Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol.: 12.8%
Residual Sugar: 1.0 g/L
Titratable Acidity: 7.3 g/L
pH: 3.28
Bottling Date: 2024-03-14
Production: 115 cases
VINEYARD AND HARVEST DATA
Appellation: Four Mile Creek
Site: Creek Road Vineyard
Soil: Tavistock and Maplewood silt and clay loam
Clones: 509 and 358
Rootstock: SO4
Vine Age: 1996 planting
Harvest Dates: 2023-10-01 – 2023-10-12
Yield: 3.5 T/ac
VINIFICATION
This wine is an assemblage of many components. Gamay Grapes were hand harvested on October 5 from the Creek Road Vineyard and whole cluster pressed.
Pressings were separated and fermented directly in a stainless steel tank at warmer temperatures, while the cuvée was cold settled and racked before a long cool fermentation, also in stainless steel.
A third component was taken as saignée juice from the red wine harvest of the same block on October 12. This juice was also fermented at warmer temperatures in a stainless steel tank.
Following fermentation, these three components were blended along with a small portion of Sauvignon Blanc, also from the Creek Road Vineyard, and allowed to integrate and rest on fine lees for 4 months. The wine was then gently fined and clarified using only bentonite (no allergens/non-vegan fining agents were used), followed by filtration prior to bottling.
REVIEWS
“Made with Gamay and 9% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from the Creek Road Vineyard in the Four Mile Creek sub-appellation, this rosé was hand harvested, whole cluster pressed. And made in the saignée style. It shows a lovely blush colour in the glass with an enticing nose of brambly red berries, plums, a touch of earth and citrus zest. It’s dry and vibrant on the plate with savoury raspberries, cherries, anise, subtle herbs, and juicy, mouth-watering acidity. My kind of rosé!” 91 points – Rick Vansickle, Wines in Niagara