2021 Haliotide Wines Pinot Noir Extra Brut Rosé Topotero Vineyard

100% Pinot Noir (clones 2A and 113) from the organically farmed Topotero vineyard. Vines are planted on clay-loam soils. Grapes were hand-harvested on 8 August and gently foot-trodden and cold soaked to extract colour. Only free-run juice was used for this wine. Juice was fermented in a mix of stainless steel and neutral French oak for 9 months before being bottled unfiltered for second fermentation. The wine then spent 30 months on lees before being hand-riddled and hand-disgorged in October 2024. 5 g/l dosage added. Medium salmon pink with bubbles jetting up from the middle of the glass and causing a small dome on the surface of the wine. Makes it look almost like a garden fountain! Fresh strawberry, cream, choux pastry and marzipan nose – bewitching! Tangy mouth-watering acidity and an almond-laced finish. Despite the copious visual bubbles, they’re very gentle on the palate. Not nearly as weighty as I’d expect given the nose – rather light, refreshing and aperitif-like. Goes down almost too easily! (SCJ)