Vin Gris Rosé
Napa Valley

Clos Pegase Napa Valley Vin Gris

Wine Stats


Vintage: 2010
Variety: 94.5% Merlot
5.5% Malbec
Vineyard: 100% Mitsuko's Vineyard (Carneros)
Soil: haire clay-loams
Harvest Date: October 20-28
Aging: 5 months in 100% neutral French oak
Alcohol: 14.1%
T.A.: 5.30 g/L
pH: 3.40
Residual Sugar: 3.40 g/L
Bottled: April 2011
Cases: 208
Optimum Drinking: 2011-2014


Tasting Notes

Our 2010 Vin Gris possesses a fragrant and perfumed nose redolent of bright strawberries, red cherries with a hint of wild fennel and dried mint. The wine has a vibrant, expansive, juicy and elegant palate. This wine is built for pure refreshment and enjoyment - perfect for a summer lunch al fresco, or as a refreshing aperitif. Serve chilled.

Vineyard & Vintage Notes

Rainfall returned after several drier-than-average dry years, and this wet weather combined with very cool spring growing conditions pushed bud break, flowering and fruit-set back by at least two weeks at the front end of the growing season. Continued cooler weather in the early summer maintained the ten-day to two-week lag into veraison. This cool season was unexpectedly punctuated by a two-day heat spike into triple digits, with grapes at various sites experienced some sunburn, which then required subsequent removal prior to harvest. Cooler than average temperatures returned again in early September, but gave way to a welcome, warm and consistent Indian Summer in mid-October, resulting in good flavor and structural development across the board.

Winemaking Notes

Our Vin Gris is made in the traditional "saignée" style: after crushing the fruit for some of our estate red wine varieties, we remove a percentage of the freshly liberated juice. This technique both concentrates the flavor and structure of our red wines and allows us to make a lovely dry rosé, keeping the delicate aromatics and fruit flavors of the varieties, yet without the tannins. The result is an elegant, light bodied wine, with plenty of bright fruit and ethereal substance, which is bottled after resting a mere 5 months in neutral French oak barrels.

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