Blackbook Winery – ‘I’d Rather Be A Rebel’ Rose – 2021

PRODUCER NOTE:
Blackbook Winery is an urban winery located in a railway arch in Battersea, South London. Their philosophy is simple: blending tradition with innovation. The grapes are sourced from carefully selected growers, who have vineyards within hours of the city and high-quality grapes. Blackbook endeavours to bring the hard work of the vineyard owners to the forefront, by creating a range of single vineyard wines that showcase the quality and potential of producing world-class still wine in England. Focussing on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Blackbook uses a minimalist approach, with low to zero sulphur and natural yeasts, as they seek to reflect the vibrancy, culture and energy of London in their wines.

VINTAGE:
2021 was an unusually cold vintage with multiple frost episodes during May and early June, resulting a delayed season. This was coupled with a cold and wet growing season. The harvest was one of the latest in recent memory with the first grapes arriving to the winery in late October and the last arriving close to the third week of October. The colder-than-average season resulted in lower alcohol wines with beautiful tension.

VINEYARD:
The grapes come from the Crows Lane Estate single vineyard, situated on the coastal peninsula of the Crouch Valley in Essex, between the Crouch and Blackwater Rivers. The proximity to the rivers helps to protect the vineyard from spring frosts. The vineyard is south facing to optimise sunlight exposure in the capricious English climate. The vines are trained according to the double Guyot and Vertical Shoot positioning (VSP) methods and were planted in 2017 with German Pinot Noir clones. The vineyard is made up of London clay soils, which have high smectite content and offer good water retention properties, storing mineral ions which are exchanged with the roots and nourish the vines throughout summer growth period. The grapes are hand-picked into small crates and then travel the short distance to the winery in Battersea, London.

WINEMAKING:
The ‘I’d Rather Be a Rebel’ rosé was vinified following the philosophy of minimal intervention. The grapes were cold soaked, then whole bunch pressed directly into 5 to 10 year old Burgundy barrels, without settling. The wine underwent fermentation with indigenous yeast, followed by malolactic conversion with natural yeast which resulted in a softer mouthfeel. 25% was aged in stainless steel tanks, retaining the purity of fruit, where it received frequent lees stirring. The remaining 75% was aged for six months on its lees in seasoned Burgundy barrels. The total maturation time was eight months.

TASTING NOTE:
An expressive and textured dry rosé, with elements of strawberries and cream, ripe red cherry and freshly crushed raspberry coming together on the beautifully balanced palate.

GRAPE:
Pinot Noir 100%.

COUNTRY:
England

REGION:
English Regional Wine

SUB-REGION:
English Regional Wine