Vineyard

The grapes for the 2022 Silk Purse are sourced from the lower 8 rows of the Riesling vineyard. This vineyard faces due north on an 18 degree slope with the rows approximately South East North West in orientation on a Scott-Henry trellis system. The trellis is opened towards the top of the slope in a southerly direction protecting the fruit from excessive mid-season sunlight. The laminated siltstones and shales of the slope allow for very reliable drainage in wetter growing seasons and a generally warmer start to each growing season. This is a very important quality vineyard for us at Bloodwood and we are blessed to have it.

Vintage Conditions

The Weather At Bloodwood is always the same; It's Different!

Vintage 2022 reminded us of those we used to experience in the mid eighties and early nineties. It was very cool and late by this centuries standards beginning with Chardonnay on the 16th March and ending with just ripe Shiraz in late April. Yields were moderate because we pruned for tough ripening conditions and although the acid and pH levels were on the bright side, fruit flavours were lovely. Given the tough conditions, (733 mm during the October to April growing season) it was vital that fungicide programmes were consistently protective to ensure good clean fruit at vintage. Luckily, we had a run of dry and warm days from 4th of February to the 25th of March only interrupted by a moderate fall in early March which dragged the vintage home in good clean shape here at Bloodwood.

Winemaking

The main consideration here was a clean, efficient ferment minimizing volatile acidity and extended ferment characters. At 36 Brix or more, the lightly botrytised and dehydrated grapes were hand-picked, hand-sorted and whole-bunch pressed to a small enclosed fermentation vessel and allowed to cold settle overnight under C02 and around 20ppm S02. Following several rackings to help clarify the juice (and to recover as much of the sticky stuff as we could) what was left was warmed to 18C and inoculated with a very actively growing Champagne yeast, along with selected organic fermentation nutrients and a good dollop of hope. Fermentation was slow and steady at first, but encouraged with regular applications of warmth through reverse engineering of the cooling jacket on our smallest fermenter it ticked away until we judged the alcohol level to be around the 11.5% mark. Following bench trials, protein and cold stabilization, the wine was sterile filtered and bottled in October 2022.

Wine Analysis

pH 3.2

Acidity 8.5 g/l (2.95g Malic)

Alc/Vol 11.5%

Tasting Notes

Light green gold in colour, this gentle sweetie shows spicy citrus and lemon curd aromas supporting a silky mouth-feel which finishes with juicy acidity. Typical tangy honeysuckle and talc across the palate of this super late picked, lightly botrytised Bloodwood Riesling will provide excellent current enjoyment.

However, some patience in your cellar will add to the enjoyment of this wine.

11.3% alc/Vol (375ml bottle)