Summer Petillant Naturel arrivals

Summer’s coming and there is no more apt summer quaffer than a chilled, thirst-quenching Pet Nat. All our new vintage 2021 Petillants are available as below:

As Jancis Robinson describes in The Oxford Companion to wine:

“Pétillant naturel, lightly sparkling wine that is relatively low in alcohol and usually contains some residual sugar, made by the méthode ancestrale. The style has been enthusiastically embraced by producers of natural wine who have coined the term pet-nat for it. The first aoc created specifically for a style that has become increasingly fashionable in the 21st century was montlouis Pétillant Naturel but a wide range of very varied examples are now made all over the world of wine.”

Express Winemakers 'Foamo' 2021

Organically grown Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir bottled before fermentation was finished to provide some fizz.
Tastes like ruby grapefruit, watermelon and fruit tingles.

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

Posted on 11 & 12 September 2021

'Fear of missing out on pet nat.

Mandarin juice, tropical Berocca, bright and really good with its fizz. Zippy, crunchy, slightly chalky, dried mixed peel. Yum. Very delicious, quietly complex, serious in its intent and delivers a lot of party time good times too. This is a cracker.'

92 Points

This season’s Pét Nat Pinot Noir, in addition to all the joy it brings to drink, can be almost as pleasurable just to open up and sit and watch... a veritable lava lamp of lees. Unmistakably and purely Pinot Noir on the nose, just-ripe raspberries on the palate. So many processes of control go into making a Champagne, while Pét Nat is permitted to largely create itself. Where last vintage resulted in a sort of wild, messy, walk-of-shame debauchery, this vintage is tidy and compartmentalised, with a glittery bead and velveteen mousse. Good, clean, bubbly fun. 100% Lenswood Pinot Noir. Whole-bunch pressed to concrete 'egg' fermenter. Fermented until nearly dry.

This lightly bubbly Rosé has a delicious nose of exotic flowers and musk, pithy grapefruit, blood orange and citrus blossom. On the palate there is a mixed fruit salad experience that is light, refreshingly fruity, with a dry, textured finish.

Vineyard

Site(s): Grapes from all 3 Ngeringa vineyard sites: Rufus, Summit and Iluma.
3 vineyard sites total 5 hectares and are on easterly and westerly aspects at the base of the Mount Barker Summit. They are part of a biodiverse 75 hectare biodynamic farm on the south-eastern edge of the Adelaide Hills. Mount Barker Summit defines these sites ranging from 330 to 420 meters of elevation. Our vineyard soils are loam over clay, with varying influences of ironstone and micaceous schist. Ngeringa has been certified biodynamic since the late 1980’s with no chemical sprays, fertilizers or insecticides applied.

Winemaking

A blend of whole bunch pressed Syrah and Pinot Noir Rosé, Viognier and Pink Semillon. The Syrah and Pinot were picked relatively early for freshness and acidity, whole-bunch pressed and fermented in barrels and concrete egg - shaped vessels. The Viognier and Pink Semillon were picked at good maturity level to express the more exotic aromatics. Both were fermented with about 7 to 10 days skin contact before also being pressed into barrels. Once nearly dry, the Syrah, Pinot, Viognier and Pink Semillon were blended and sweetened with some frozen juice to 14g/L before being bottled in the middle of June 2021. Fermentation finished in the bottle resulting in a light bubbly sparkling. No enzymes, no fining, no filtration.
Closure: Crown Cap
ABV: 11.0%
Grape(s): Pink Semillon, Viognier, Pinot Noir and Syrah

Vintage

For the first time in a few years we had reasonable winter rains going into spring of 2020 and also some good follow-up rains right into early summer. A significant difference to the two previous seasons was no late season frost, no hail and favourable weather around flowering for all grape varieties. The vine carried a bumper crop going into veraison! A much milder than average summer with no severe heat spikes resulted in a perfect long ripening season allowing optimal ripening conditions for our biggest crop to-date, - over double the quantity harvested from the minuscule vintages of 2019 and 2020. It’s rare that amazing quality, concentration and finesse come together with a vintage of good quantity.

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

Posted on 30 August 2021

“Biodynamic farming of the highest order. Ever tried the veggies from Ngeringa? Unreal. Flavour town.

Colourful, exotic pet nat, balsamic lift is noted in bouquet, sour cherry, in the tart zone before you even sip it but that’s a-ok in the style. Cidery to taste with a splash of kombucha, a bit of red berry sweetness, creamy, savoury-yeasty finish. Feels fun and of an ilk; wilder edged pet nat."

89 points

The Blend - Uva Di Troia, Zibibbo & Nero d'avola

A unique combination of Uva do Troia, Zibibbo and Nero d’Avola creates a wine that is one-of-a-kind! One will first notice the light pink colour, a bit like a perfect sunset. The wine has gone through sedimentation, this is the effect of the secondary fermentation process that occurs in the bottle. It is harmless and is understood to be an aphrodisiac (that is a rumour to the best of our knowledge). The bead of bubbles are fine and the wine presents in a manner that is to be enjoyed with good friends.

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

Posted on 11 September 2021

"Zibbibo, uva di troia, nero d’Avola are employed here for the Ricca Terra pet nat.

Creamy, foamy, good times pet nat. Raspberry Splice iceblock, lime juice, floral characters, sweetness and sourness in good synch. Compact bubbles though kind of frothy too. Raspberry flavours tempered with saline nuttiness, pomegranate flavours too. Really pleasing, gentle pet nat style with summer written all over it."

90 Points

Lat - pet - Nat
Zero SO2
Moonambel
Sauvignon Blanc Pyrenees
10.5% alc

Essential Crisis is back after a little break in 2020 due to poor flowering in the vineyard.

This Petillant Naturel or Rural Method Sparkling wine is produced from sauvignon blanc grapes, grown in the Victorian Pyrenees at Moonambel. One harvest date, pressed straight to tank, juice is naturally fermented, with the ferment continuing in bottle to capture the light fizz in the bottle.

Passionfruit, green herbs, apple juice, lemon lime zest vibes. Calm bubbles rising on a natural bead, A good amount of crunch factor to texture, brisk acidity, a cool, lemony finish like adult lemonade. It’s bursting with fruitiness and youthful energy.

Wildman Wine Astro Bunny Pét-Nat 2021

Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Riverland

Zibibbo 30%, Fiano 26%, Arneis 24% Nero d’Avola 17%, Mataro 3%

'A cult classic of the minimal intervention scene' - @LoveTillyDevine

How it tastes

Nectarine orange colour with explosive peachy, floral aromas. Frothy and foaming bubbles deliver mouthfuls of pink grapefruit and zingy cut-lime fruit with a smashable watermelon wetness providing great gluggability. She's fun! Chill down, shake well before opening, serving suggestion: beach or bus, 2 people 10 minutes.

Now available in magnums! 'TOO MUCH FOR ONE PERSON, NOT ENOUGH FOR TWO'

How we made it

The 2021 vintage in South Australia delivered near perfect conditions for growing beautifully balanced, ripe grapes,. As is often the case in exceptional vintages, yields were also good as the vines were happy and healthy. The Nero d’Avola was hand harvested on 6th March, Mataro on the 29th, the Fiano and Arneis on March 2nd and the Zibibbo on March 9th.

The Zibibbo was given 24 hours pre-ferment skin contact to extract greater aromatics, the Nero and Mataro were taken from the press after just a few hours to provide colour, then co-fermented with the Fiano and Arneis. Interestingly the wine always goes into bottle a bright candy pink colour which transforms into the classic peachy orange over winter, a result of us not using any sulphur so the brighter red and pink colour compounds fall out of solution. After eight years of making the Astro Bunny we’re pretty happy with how it works out and don’t meddle too much with a winning recipe.

The wine is bottled with 12 g/L residual sugar and completes its fermentation in the bottle over the winter becoming fully dry and resulting in a final pressure of around 3 bar, producing a gentle foam rather than an aggressive fizz. Wild yeast, no adds, no filtration, no fining, zero sulphur = 100% natural goodness.

Geek Speak

13% ABV sugar 00.8 g/lt free S02 0.00 mg/lt total SO2 2mg / l

pH 3.53 titratable acidity 6.1 g/lt

11,785 bottles and 400 magnums produced

Wildman Wine Piggy Pop Pét Nat 2021

Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Riverland

Nero d’Avola 48% Mataro 23%, Fiano 10%, Zibibbo 10%, Arneis 9%

How it tastes

Hazy rose petal pink, a riot of cherry aromas with a frothy palate bursting with pomegranate, blood orange and spice. The palate is tangy with the snap, crackle and pop of Nero acidity and a mouthwatering freshness from the Arneis and Fiano. Serve cold, no need to shake before opening, made for park drinking and pizza.

Now available in magnums! 'TOO MUCH FOR ONE PERSON, NOT ENOUGH FOR TWO'

How we made it

All the fruit was harvested in the cool of the early morning to retain freshness and the fruit was transferred immediately to Lodestone Winery in the Adelaide Hills. The Nero d’Avola and Mataro were fermented with around 50% whole bunch for twenty four hours before being pressed off skins to achieve the hazy, rose petal colour. We’ve been refining the style of the Piggy Pop over the last few years and felt confident to introduce a proportion of white grapes for the first time this year. Not only does this add extra acidity and freshness but it also washes out some tannin without reducing the intense fruit flavours. By making the Piggy as a rosé blend of white grapes and red grapes we think we’ve given it even greater drinkability and a mouthwatering freshness.

The wine is bottled with 12 g/L residual sugar and completes its fermentation in the bottle over the winter becoming fully dry and resulting in a final pressure of around 3 bar, producing a gentle, frothy foam rather than an aggressive fizz. Wild yeast, no adds, no filtration, no fining, zero sulphur = 100% natural goodness.

Geek Speak

13% ABV sugar 00.8 g/lt free S02 0.00 mg/lt total SO2 2mg / l

pH 3.53 titratable acidity 6.1 g/lt

11,785 bottles and 400 magnums produced

Liquid Library

Summer Petillant Naturel arrivals

Tasting Notes

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

Winefront review by Mike Bennie

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