And so the obsession with skin contact wine continues. It seems I can't leave the house these days without finding myself back home with a shopping bag where wine miraculously appears. Pool Wines 2021 Gold just happened to make its way into my shopping bag as I snuck past a Blackhearts and Sparrows wine shop.
This is a blend of vermentino and moscato giallo juice, left for five months on skins. Vermentino lends itself well to skin contact wine - its malleable and responds well to a variety of techniques. The moscato giallo, with is grapey and musky notes are coupled with baked apple and citrus hints. When you add this to the stonefruit, citrus and sea spray characters of the Vermentino, you have an intriguing wine, loaded with personality.
This is textural and wildly aromatic, and there are loads of subtle suggestions of mandarin, clementine and orange flowers. It has a wonderful structure with the very linear acidity backbone playing its part in a symphony of bright textural complex flavours and aromas. There's ginger, there's saline, there's fruit, there's acid and there is punch in every drop.
The obsession with skin contact wines will no doubt continue for the team into Summer as new options and varietals come into the market. For now, this one looks like a winner. Grapes used by the trio in making their wines are from Chalmers and a few other Heathcote vineyards
RRP $29
VIC | 2021 | Heathcote | 11.5% ABV