Spring has sprung, the clocks have gone forward and the weather forecast is even promising some sunshine. Things are looking up and in even better news the 2020 English rosés are about to be released!
Albury Organic Vineyard in Surrey (my local!) are set to release their Silent Pool Rosé in May but their lucky wine club members had the opportunity to take part in their annual dosage tasting. The dosage is the amount of sugar in a mixture of wine and sugar that is used to top up the wines just before bottling. This is typically more associated with the sparkling wine making process to (a) make sure all the wine levels in the bottles are the same and (b) it allows the winemaker to control the sugar level in the final wine. In Albury’s case they make the sugar solution from the natural grape must (the unfermented grape juice). Adding the dosage allows the winemaker to adjust the sweetness and balance out the acidity of the wine. If the grapes are very ripe with lots of sugar already there, i.e. in a very hot year, this may not be necessary.
While this annual event is normally held in their barn in person, we were once again provided tasting samples and the event was hosted over Zoom. We were given three samples and were told one had no sugar added, another 2 grams per litre and the final 4 grams per litre. The aim of the game was not to guess which was which but merely to think through which you preferred. Their winemaker suggested we ’try to eliminate the one you like the least and then decide between two’…my problem, I liked them all!
The wine this year is made from 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Pinot Meunier, the vines are now 11/12 years old so are definitely maturing and with the long, hot summer we had it has made for a fantastic vintage. The grapes were first picked on the 27th September 2020 with a couple of other loads coming in in October – everything is hand harvested to select quality grapes. The grapes were then de-stemmed and over night soaked to extract the colour (Pinot Noir/ Pinot Meunier are black-skinned grapes), next step is the pressing to extract the juice followed by the fermentation process (yeast + sugar = alcohol!). Finally the wine is left for six months on the lees (the dead yeast cells and sediment – sounds a bit gross but adds flavour!) before being filtered ready for bottling.
The result is tons of summer fruits with well balanced acidity and salinity giving it a delicious freshness. So did it need the extra 2 or 4 grams per litre of sugar? The group voted – no(!) the 0 dosage and 2 gram dosage got the most votes…the British sunshine of 2020 has made for a great year. Let’s see what the winemaker’s final decision is!
Albury will re-open it’s doors to the public on the 17th April for outside tastings at the weekends with their indoor tasting room available from the 22nd May. The 2020 rosé should also be available from mid-May too. Lots more details available on their website here.
Certainly a reason to feel cheerful this spring!