Q&A with the winemaker: Valentines Day wine
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so we thought we would catch up with our Head Winemaker Fergus Elias to find out what bottle of Balfour he will be cracking open this 14th February.
Q. So Fergus, have you decided what wine you will be sharing this Valentine’s Day?
A. It can only be our Balfour Brut Rosé, 2018.
Q. So what are you going to pair with this?
A. I’m looking forward to cooking some pan fried scallops with chorizo.
Q. So what is your favourite thing about this wine?
A. It has to be the relationship between fruit and acid profile.
Q. Can you share something about the history of Balfour Brut Rosé?
A. It has been made by an Elias* since 2003. Many people don’t know that we did, in fact make 1000 bottles of the 2003 when the vines were just a year old. It was allegedly rather lovely not that I ever got to try any! Equally, the vines have been looked after by the same family since the beginning. In fact the Turner family have been tending the Hush Heath Estate for over 30 years.
*Owen and Fergus Elias are our father and son winemaking team
Q. What about a winemaking fact for us?
A. This wine doesn’t go through Malolactic Fermentation. This is where the Malic acids in the grape, (think green apple acids) convert into Lactic acids (think dairy acids which are much softer). This gives the wine a more vibrant acidity which we have found gives the wine incredible aging potential. Towards the end of last year we carried out a vertical tasting starting with our first ever official release, the 2004. I can tell you that that wine was still lively with a great fruit and a wonderful fresh acid profile. It was drinking really well.
Q. Can you tell us your proudest moment with Balfour Brut Rosé?
A. There’s loads, but I have to say it was rather nice to have Jancis Robinson attend our special Vertical Tasting of Balfour Brut Rosé, which was organized to celebrate our first release of the 2008 Archive Collection Recently Disgorged Balfour Brut Rosé. She was incredibly kind about the wines which was a real career highlight.
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