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Freedom of the Press Pinot Gris

2021

We love supporting our local wineries, especially when the wines are this good.

An 'urban' winery set deep into the Cotswolds countryside, we're huge fans of Gavin Carver's wines here at Tivoli Wines. They just seem to get better and better.

The grapes for this Pinot Gris come from two Essex vineyards: the majority from Martin’s Line in the Crouch Valley, the smaller portion from Bromley Brook vineyard near Colchester. They were destemmed, not crushed, and gravity fed to the press where they received a gentle press cycle. Fermentation took place in a combination of old Burgundian oak (30%) and concrete egg (70%) over two weeks, and the resulting wine has been aged in concrete for 8 months on its lees. Around a third of the wine has undergone malolactic conversion, slightly changing the green apple acid profile to a creamier lactic acid.

An elegant English Pinot Gris, full of white stone fruit, juicy pear and flowers, threaded with a pinch of spice. There's a touch of honey on the palate (which will develop in bottle over time), balanced by a fine citrus acidity, minerality and a long finish.

Drinking beautifully now, this is a wine that that will develop more complexity over the next couple of years (if you have that restraint).

Details

More Information
Wine Type	White wine
Closure	Natural Cork
Alc. Vol	12
Units	9
Region	Essex
Country	United Kingdom
Grape Varietal	Pinot Gris
Food Pairings	White Meat, Chicken in Béchamel Sauce, Creamy Risotto

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Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the Press is an urban winery in the Cotswolds, just 15 miles outside of Oxford. Owned and run by Gavin Carver, the winery makes small batches of beautiful still wines from exquisite English grapes, selecting techniques and vessels best suited to crafting each wine’s distinctive style.

Not owning his own vineyards, Gavin sources his fruit from Essex, a county that is acknowledged as having the best sites for growing grapes for still wines in the country. In a typical year Essex is drier and sunnier than anywhere else, meaning the grapes become riper. Furthermore the London clay is proving to be a perfect soil to develop powerful complex flavours in cool-climate still wines.

Although a very small winery, Freedom of the Press have a range of vessels for fermentation and maturation. Steel tanks, earthenware jars, a concrete egg and old French oak barrels give Gavin the flexibility to shape his wines into a desired style.

Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris (also known as Pinot Grigio) is a pink-tinged grape mutation of Pinot Noir. While both Gris and Grigio are genetically the same, the wines produce quite different styles.

Wines that call themselves Pinot Gris are usually richer, with a fuller body and a slightly spicy, herbaceous flavour profile. This style is most associated with the French region of Alsace, though Pinot Gris is also becoming immensely popular in Oregon, California, New Zealand and Australia. You might also find it called Grauburgunder in Germany and Austria.

A wine that calls itself Pinot Grigio will usually be in the light, citrusy, easy-drinking Italian style. Pinot Grigio does not generally have a distinct flavour; having bright acidity is its most famous feature.