My vineyard notes show 2020 as a friendly year - a cool start followed by hot, windy conditions which pretty much guaranteed clean ripe fruit - after the 500 sheep did their enthusiastic leaf plucking in 5 days flat - preferable to using your mitts!

Yield was low for nice, concentrated flavours (@ 5-tonnes/ha) and we picked at 23.4 brix. Total acid at 6.1g was typically low. At 7.4g/l of sugar it is on the cusp of dry.

Alsace is the home of excellence for Pinot Gris with the best examples rich and spicy. This is our benchmark and we think, like the double gold 2018 vintage, that this 2020 is well on track. It is vibrant, youthful and bright like our winemaker daughter, Lisa. A bit of judicious lees-stirring also adds nicely to taste and texture.

We’re inclined to think that the British public will forgive Boris’ dalliances and penchant for parties when they discover that the wine of choice at these gathering was Piccolo. One reporter heard him bluster to his umpteenth wife “Don’t really care what those wowsers think! With Piccolo the prize, it was bloody worth it.” Go Bo-Bo.