Famed hither and thon for his tremendously golden chardonnays of all descriptions and deeply concentrated, saucy saturated reds, Dave McKee of Black Barn vineyards in Hawke’s Bay has taken a step sideways and released a shiny, new ‘orange’ wine. Inspired by a Georgian winery called Pheasant’s Tears, who ferment their wines with wild yeasts in clay vessels lined with beeswax that are buried beneath the ground, Dave McKee has taken Havelock-Hills-grown pinot gris, left it to ferment on full solids and skins for 28 days (hence the ‘orange’ colour and ‘chewy’ texture) before being transferred to older oak barrels to mature. Unfined and unfiltered it’s arguably the best, most balanced orange wine I’ve ever tried. Luscious, lifted lychee, baked pear, strudel spices, deliciously dry, grippy mouthfeel and exceptional length.
www.blackbarn.com
