Miss Zilm Pinot Gris 2022

Hesketh produce exceptional wines and their alternate varietals have caused quite a stir around WDHQ, leaving many a Tasting Panel member weak at the knees. They also co-own Vickery wines with John Vickery, the master and godfather of Australian Riesling. There aren’t too many staff orders that don’t feature a bottle or 3 of one of these wines.

A bit more on Hesketh...

Pinot Gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name ("gris" meaning "grey" in French) but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance. The word "Pinot", which means "pinecone" in French, could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters.

The wines produced from this grape also vary in colour from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink, and it is one of the more popular grapes for orange wine.

The clone of Pinot Gris grown in Italy is known as Pinot Grigio.

In Australia

Pinot Gris was first introduced into Australia in 1832 in the collection of grapes brought by James Busby. In Victoria, wines from the grape are labeled both Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio,

130km north of Adelaide (and west of the Barossa), the Clare Valley sits within a high-altitude pocket granting the vineyards cool to cold nights with long, warm to hot summer days. This cooler climate grants thin-skinned (and indeed temperamental) grapes like rieslings a perfect climate in which to mature slowly without risk of mould during the harvest season. The resulting wines are perfumed, complex, softly flavoured yet powerful.

There are several sub-regions in the 35km stretch of valley, pocketed with varying soils, altitudes and climates. West-facing, high-altitude slopes benefit from drying afternoon sun in summer, producing some of the regions best vintages. The vines are planted from 400 to 500 metres (1,300 to 1,600 ft). The higher altitude, compared to other wine regions in South Australia, ensures cool nights even during the heat of summer allowing the fruit to ripen more evenly and slowly. Soil is a mix of red to brown-grey over basement rock.

History