Altydgedacht Muskarade 2015

Dry land vineyards with Hutton soils and trellised hedges. Average age of vineyards – 26 years.

Gewürztraminer, Weisser Riesling and Muscat d’Alexandrie grapes were handpicked in the cool morning hours at between 22.3 and 23.0 °Balling. After harvest, the Gewürz and Riesling grapes were cooled overnight to 10 ºC prior to vinification. These grapes were sorted, de-stemmed, crushed, pressed and allowed to cold settle for two days. On the Muscat, fermentation was inititiated in an open fermentor to flotate the slimy skins from the juice, after which it was pressed and fermented unclarified. The juice of the three varieties were cold- fermented separately at 12 °C. The fermentation on the Muscat d’Alexandrie was stopped to retain natural grape sugars, whilst the Gewürztraminer and Riesling were allowed to ferment dry. The wine was blended so as to balance flavour, sweetness and acidity. The wine was left on gross lees for a period of 11 months to develop flavour and mouthfeel.