Blackbook Winery, 'Nightjar' Pinot Noir 2021
Winemaker: Sergio Verrillo Region: English Regional Wine Subregion: English Regional Wine Country: England Alcohol: 12.5% BodyValue: B (A islight, E isfull bodied) ResidualSugar: 0 Contains Sulphites: Yes Vegetarian/Vegan: Yes/Yes Milk/Eggs: No/No Organic: No Biodynamic: No ProductCode: 37452211 Case unit of measure: 12X75CL FormatsAvailable: 75cl Closure: Agglomerated Cork
Reminiscent of good traditional Burgundy, this rich, silky and spicy wine has a lovely perfume of red fruits, impressive and rich.
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 Blackbook Winery embraces minimal intervention winemaking. The grapes were naturally fermented in small, open-top fermenters, with 40% of the fruit vinified as whole bunches adding complexity and structure. Alcoholic fermentation and malolactic conversion both took place with indigenous yeast. The wine spent eight months on its lees in French Burgundy barrels, of which 10% were new oak. Only minimal sulphur was used and the wine was vinified without additions. The wine was matured for a total of 11 months, prior to being bottled without fining or filtration.
TastingNote: Reminiscent of old-world Pinot Noir, the Nightjar shows elements of sour and black cherries, blackcurrant with delicate hints of violet. It marries ripe fruit with sweet spice and black pepper while refined tannins lend structure through to a long, savoury finish.
Grape: Pinot Noir 100%