Pinot Gris Petnat

Pasta, summer food, pizza, cured ham, duck.

This was the most playful wine of the 2020 vintage. Grown in one of the prettiest vineyards you will ever find in the UK, our Pinot Gris was grown by Noel and Daniela in West Marden. This year the Pinot Gris grapes were particularly perfect, and ever more exciting, the Gris colour was very well developed.

Alex, our winemaker, took some inspiration from one of our friends in the USA – Jolie-Laide, and macerated the grapes for three days before fermentation. After pressing the wine retained a beautiful blush which softened to a pastel blush after fermentation in an Egg-shaped fermenter and neutral oak barrel. During fermentation we didn’t use any temperature control and allowed the temperatures to rise to around 30c. This promoted a very tropical character, peaches and mango, and builds a style of Pinot Gris which is very much unique in the UK. The final stages of fermentation were completed in bottle to capture some of the natural carbon dioxide and provides a natural fizz. The bottles have then been hand-disgorged, however each bottle may still have a small amount of yeast. The resulting fizz level is light (think Vinho Verde or Txakoli) and helps to amplify the tropical Pinot Gris character… see if you can find the ginger spices in the back of the palate!

Tucked away down a little alleyway in SW6, the London Cru Winery is based in an old Victorian warehouse which was once a gin distillery. Whilst our surroundings are historic, innovation is at our core and we house precision temperature-controlled tanks and state-of-the-art winemaking facilities. London Cru is owned by Cliff Roberson and was the first urban winery in London opening in 2013. Since our launch, many of the London Cru wines have won prestigious WineGB and IWC awards and are listed in numerous Michelin star restaurants in London and beyond. We have shown the world that quality wines can be made right here in the Capital! As part of our new vision for London Cru, since 2017 our grapes have been exclusively sourced from English vineyards. We are excited about the future of English wines and love being the London heart of this movement. In the coming years, London Cru will continue to demystify wine and bring excitement to the London wine scene.