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.
Pale salmon pink in colour, aromas of the first strawberry of the season with blood orange soda and pink rose emerge from the glass, followed by juicy red apple skin with an intriguing orange oil note. Dry and nuanced the palate is long and inviting with pink grapefruit and tart yellow raspberry, while the red apple echoes through on the palate as well. A mineral, nervy freshness carries the crisp but lengthy finish.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
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. Only 225 cases made.
ACCOLADES
91 points - Chris Waters, The Globe and Mail
"Tantalus uses pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes grown on their Kelowna estate vineyards for the 2022 edition of its juicy and complex rosé. The pale wine offers a mix of berry, citrus, and apple that are nicely layered and contribute to the clean and refreshing character. Drink now to 2025."
91 points - Treve Ring, Gismondi On Wine
"Pouring a pale peach hue, this concentrated yet graceful rosé is packed with golden apple, wild strawberry, mandarin, laced with buzzy pink grapefruit, lingering long on the finish. A beaut. Only 210 cases were made, so seek out while you can."
90 points - Anthony Gismondi, Gismondi On Wine
"Dry, complex, and replete with a mineral undercurrent, this is worth drinking on any occasion all summer. Rosé for wine drinkers."
TECHNICAL INFO
50% Pinot Noir & 50% Pinot Meunier
Alcohol: 13.3%
Residual Sweetness: .20 g/L
pH: 3.33
Total Acidity: 6.77 g/L
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VINTAGE NOTES
Although challenging, 2020 gifted us some of the best quality fruit we have seen in years. Mirroring the winter of 2019, a cold snap of under -20 C in late February harmed several vines and buds but fortunately damage was not extensive. Above average rainfall in May charged the soil with water and gave the vines everything they needed to hit the ground running after bud break. A period of cool and wet weather in early July coincided with flowering, unfortunately resulting in uneven berry set across the property.
Summer was rewarding: lots of sunshine, warm temperatures but not too much excessive heat. Vine growth caught up but we eased into harvest a week later than usual, in the second week of September. Luckily, smoky skies on the early days of harvest quickly dissipated so that we enjoyed clear days for the remainder of harvest. Unlike in previous years, the first frost (and snow!) did not arrive until late October, and we escaped harvesting our last bunches in whiteout conditions by only 12 hours!
