Deviation Road Altair Brut Rose NV

Deviation Road Altair Brut Rose NV
Pinot Noir gives the Altair power and riper red fruit aromas and Chardonnay produces citrus lift and gives the wine finesse. Sweet strawberry, cherry and spice aromas follow through to the palate, where the lively bubbles add lift and balance the fruit flavours, finishing with wonderful length and supple mouth feel.

The fruit is all hand-picked and whole bunch pressed into tank for fermentation. A remaining parcel of Pinot Noir is fermented as red wine in open top fermenters with daily plunging. Fermentation lasts around 12 days and the wines go through malolactic ferment over winter to soften the acids. Blending then takes place, combining the clear base wine with around 4-7% of the red wine to achieve the pale pink colour and fruit lift that is signature of this wine.

We tirage the wine by hand and store the bottles at 14 for a long consistent second ferment. Each bottle is riddled and hand disgorged on site in our Longwood winery. Small batches are disgorged at a time to allow the remaining bottles to continue ageing on lees as long as possible. The dosage liquor is crafted using a blend of base wines that have been aged for at least 12 months.