2025 Dry Rosé of Pinot noir

2025 DRY ROSÉ of PINOT NOIR

Tasting Notes:

Deliciously dry, this lively Rosé has notes of cherry, cranberry and a hint of black pepper.  Extended skin contact provided the rich color and medium body.

Winemaking Notes:

Wanting to create a more full-bodied Rosé the fruit was gently destemmed into a small fermenter and allowed to sit on its skins for three days.  After sufficient color development and a touch of tannin building, the juice was drained off and transferred to neutral French oak barrels for fermentation.  The barrels were inoculated with a variety of yeasts and allowed to ferment until dry and then sulfured.  We racked the wine to tank in January where it was cold stabilized and cross-flow filtered.  The wine was sterile bottled under screw cap in January 2025.

Harvest Notes:

2025 kickstarted the growing season with a warm and early spring that continued into a warm summer with a little late-summer heat.  Minimal rain led to a good fruit set in spring and low disease pressure throughout the growing season.  This all culminated in a quick and compressed harvest beginning with Maréchal Foch on September 19th and wrapping up with Riesling on October 17th, one of our earliest picks here in our 40 years at Airlie.  Great flavor concentration, balanced acidity and moderate alcohols means the 2025 wines will be excellent now and into the future.

Our estate vineyard, Dunn Forest, is LIVE certified sustainable and Salmon Safe. The vineyard is hand cultivated allowing us to respond to individual vine needs.