Quealy Musk Creek Pinot Gris 2021

If you ask Tom McCarthy to describe the difference between Pinot Grigio and Gris, he'll tell you Quealy’s single-vineyard Pinot Gris comes from vineyards that are higher in altitude. This means the grapes need to be left on the vine to ripen into late Autumn, and they therefore produce wines that are heady and richer in body. The Grigio on the other hand comes from the warmer Balnarring sites where the fruit is picked earlier and produces racier wines.

This is 100% estate Mornington Pinot Gris sourced from basalt-derived volcanic soils in the Musk Creek Vineyard. This site enjoys cooler conditions and ripens later than Tussie Mussie. It’s perched at 180-210 metres altitude atop Main Ridge. Here it overlooks Westernport Bay and the heads, and the persistent, cooling breeze from Bass Strait ensures the fruit maintains freshness. The site produces bunches of tiny, pink berries with excellent acidity—the result is a deeper, spicier, more complex and mineral Gris. Planted in 1997, the vines are dry-grown, and the fruit is always hand-harvested.