VALLI THE REAL McCOY PINOT GRIS ORANGE WINE 2022

Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards Aotearoa New Zealand 2024

Jen Parr, Winemaker notes (2022 Vintage)
"The colour of the wine comes from the grape skins and the semi-oxidative handling. The 2022 Real McCoy has a stunning tangerine hue. There are immediately inviting aromas of apricot, peach, and juicy mandarin, with cream soda, wild sage, and delicate white blossom. On the palate there are flavours of ripe stone fruit, citrus, and vanilla. The mouthfeel is both creamy and silky with a lovely hint of fine tannin and lingering acidity at the finish. Delicious on its own, the Real McCoy invites many opportunities for food pairing. We have discovered that this is a great wine for cellaring as the evolution is slow and the wine continues to improve with time.

Vintage 2022 is our 8th release of a “skins ferment” Pinot Gris from Gibbston. The combination of this versatile variety with our modern take on an ancient winemaking technique and this beautifully fragrant subregion continues to be a winning one. Experience is also starting to pay dividends. This Valli wine is perhaps the one that most obviously expresses seasonality. Each vintage showcases a consistent, recognizable core that is dressed in intriguingly different vintage characters. The 2022 growing season was naturally low cropping and disease free allowing us to play with higher levels of whole cluster ranging from 27-100% across the four ferments. The bone dry wine went through a full malolactic fermentation and was bottled after 11.5 months in oak. The wine was not fined or filtered so natural sediment may occur. Each year we see a greater sense of place in our Valli Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris and we continue to see our special place in the Real McCoy Orange Pinot Gris. This reinforces everything we believe about sub regionality and expression of site. The Real McCoy also highlights our intention to embrace the beauty and honesty of seasonality."

5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, December 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Orange wines come in many shapes and styles; this is a stunning rendition combining fruit intensity with seductive savoury nuances and just the right amount of fine phenolics. The enticing bouquet shows citrus peel, dried flower, clove and green tea aromas, leading to a wonderfully weighted palate offering refined texture backed by bright acidity and discreet tannins, finishing persistent and engaging. At its best: now to 2028."

93/100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2022 Vintage)
"This is a skin-contact white wine/orange wine. Exciting. Frankly, I love skin contact Pinot Gris. The 2022 The Real McCoy Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Gris spent approximately four weeks on skins (same as the Pinot Noir), and on the nose, it leads with orange oil, beeswax, white/spring flowers, white pepper, star anise, Campari, rosemary, hints of clove and brine. It is super pretty, and soft(!) in the mouth, with lovely fresh acid that wraps around the phenolics. What a lovely wine. It matured in neutral oak for 11 months, with 100% malolactic fermentation."

Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, November 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Aromas and flavours of apricots and saffron, yellow flowers and exotic spices. Crisp and dry with fine tannins and medium+ acid line. The natural orange quality is distinctive with a palate squeeze contrasted with core fruit flavours and orange peel. The saffron and other exotic spice qualities remain persistent. Balanced, well made and ready with best drinking from day of purchase through 2026+."

93/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, January 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"A skin-ferment ‘orange’ wine from Central Otago, made from Gibbston Pinot Gris fruit. A clear, bright, pale amber colour in the glass. A tangy perfume of red apple, kumquat, oriental spice, apricot and lemon peel, with herbal and floral top notes. Bone dry with a briney acidity, highlighting those lush, spicy fruit flavours. There is a peppery phenolic interest here, but also a silken, waxy texture that swaddles the spikier elements. Spice and herbs hang out at the finish, which is both dry and fresh. A gorgeous wine with food."

93/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, May 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Pale orange-pink with some suspended sediment. Vibrant, zesty nose of pink grapefruit, smoke and pith. The palate builds in weight towards the back, almost creamy before the very fine, chalky grip fills the mouth. Some vanillin oak wrapped around the dried apricot, walnut and kernel flavours. Savoury with lots to chew but also plenty of fruit. A modern ‘orange’ wine that will develop nicely in bottle as it gets smoother and richer."