Kiven Chilled Red Blend 2023

From the producer: "A supreme site that demonstrates the complexity and elegance delivered by cool-climate viticulture. The vineyard is certified organic and contains 30- to 35-year-old vines grown on red soils of schist, quartz and iron-rich clay.

The idea for this wine was to create something highly approachable and moreish yet still layered. While these varieties thrive in different regions, as a blend they are highly complementary. Grenache delivers intense red fruit characters and floral aromas, while the Touriga offers spice, hints of violet and importantly, mouthfeel.

Both varieties were handpicked, manually sorted and destemmed and crushed into open top fermenters. Grenache: After three days of cold soaking, fermentation kicked off with gentle plunging twice daily. Fermentation temperatures were kept below 22 degrees to preserve aromatics and red-fruit characters. After seven days the grenache was basket pressed into barrel where it finished its fermentation and laid on its lees for 13 months before blending. Touriga: After an overnight cold soak, fermentation kicked off with temperatures remaining below 20 degrees to ensure extraction remained subtle (particularly important with this thick-skinned Portuguese variety). After just four days on skins the wine was basket pressed straight into oak where it completed its fermentation and laid on its lees for 13 months before blending.

This wine was bottled unfiltered with minimal sulphites."