Oh Rosé, how we adore your Springtime arrival!
For us, the release of our Rosé has become synonymous with the unfolding of this season: the longer days, the awakening of our vineyard hives and the start of another exciting growing year. Its release is always worth celebrating!
A stunning pale salmon in colour, our 2021 vintage represents the final leg of a slow transition in style for this wine so many have to come love. We have been seeking a more savoury character and delicate colour while still maintaining a lush and juicy freshness. Bright aromatics of blood orange, rosewater, rhubarb and warmed strawberry are abundant. The palate is savoury and balanced with plenty of layers of berries, pink grapefruit and cucumber skin. Always moreish, we expect this vintage won’t last long!
Our 2021 vintage was crafted from 65% young vine Pinot Noir picked early in the season and whole-bunch pressed to preserve freshness and acidity. Complemented by 1985 and 2013 plantings of Pinot Meunier harvested slightly later in the season. The final component of the 2021 was hard pressings from both parcels, fermented wild in neutral oak barrels adding a beautiful textural component. The combined wine was then fermented at cool temperatures and spent 2 months on fermentation lees prior to bottling in February 2022.
TECHNICAL INFO:
Varietal: 65% Pinot Noir / 35% Pinot Meunier
Alcohol: 12.7%
Residual Sweetness: 2.89 g/L
pH: 3.46
Total Acidity: 6.15 g/L
ACCOLADES:
91 points - Christopher Waters, The Globe and Mail, July 2022
"Tantalus sticks to its traditional blend of estate grown pinot noir and pinot meunier to produce the latest release of its popular salmon-hued rosé. The pressed juice was fermented in older oak barrels to build the wine's weight and texture withut adding any cedar, vanilla or smoky notes. On the palate, this shows richer rhubarb and berry flavours that are rounded out by savoury notes and a clean, refreshing finish."
90 points - Anthony Gismondi, Vancouver Sun, July 2022
"Fresh, juicy, lively style with a touch more colour than pale, this is an impressive style of rosé that you want to drink with food. The attack is bright and vibrant with a savoury blood orange undertone supporting citrus peel and wild berries, with a saline, stony mineral undertone. A wonderful balance of fruitiness and savoury flavours makes this wine a delight any time of the week. The blend is a 65/35 mix of pinot noir and pinot meunier. Seriously good."
92 points - John Schreiner, Good Grog Blog, July 2022
VINTAGE NOTES
After a few recent winters with remarkably cold events, we managed to emerge from the 2020/21 winter without much cold damage to our vineyards. Bud break fell on the early end of the long-term average, fueled by warm spring temperatures and marginal rainfall, conditions that would persist until summer. The 2021 heat dome (we measured a temperature high of 48.5C on site) coincided with flowering in the vineyard. The extreme heat at such a sensitive time in the grapes’ development resulted in smaller than average berries and clusters and lower yields.
Warm temperatures and low rainfall persisted through early summer. Smoky August skies slowed berry ripening and pushed harvest back from what would have been a record early start on our site. Harvest kicked off in early September with our first grapes for our sparkling wines. The weather stayed warm with little precipitation for the rest of the month, allowing us to pick our fruit at peak ripeness and flavour and wrap up harvest on October 5th, two weeks earlier than we commonly do and making for a short but busy end to the growing season! Although a lower crop yield from the season was disappointing, fruit quality was excellent and the smaller bunches led to beautifully concentrated wines.
