Rivulet Amphora Pinot Gris 2025

"Fermented on skins for 100 days in a sealed amphora, which suits me just fine; it’s a serious tilt at orange wine. A smaller component was given 24 hours on skins and fermented in a season oak barrel. 100 cases.

Spicy, a light smoked almond character, tangerine, peach iced tea, and aromatic herbs. It’s a savoury sort of wine, a little earthy and stony, an orange peel bite to it, lots of sandy grip and clay-like texture, with an amaro bitterness on a dusty and tangy finish of solid length, perhaps clipped a little by all that tannin. I really like it, not least for its uncompromising nature, though there’s quite a bit to unpack here."
- 92 points, Gary Walsh, The Winefront

Our Amphora Pinot Gris blends ancient winemaking techniques with Pinot Gris grown on Tasmania’s Freycinet coast to produce a uniquely vibrant and textural wine.

Amphorae are large terracotta vessels used for fermentation and maturation of wine since antiquity; archaeological fragments in Georgia, Armenia and Iran date back more than 6000 years. Our fascination with these vessels began some years ago and continues with this release.

Grown in our home region on the Freycinet coast of Tasmania, Pinot Gris was destemmed to a single large amphora and fermented with wild yeast. We then sealed the amphora and allowed the wine to gracefully mature on skins for more than 100 days, taking advantage of natural phenolic compounds in the grapes to preserve the wine without the addition of sulfur. For balance, a smaller component was pressed after 24 hours on skins and fermented in a seasoned French oak barrel.

We love the vibrant amber hue of this wine and its juicy yellow peach aromas which set the scene for its complex and textural palate. Deep flavours of stonefruit, tangerine, hazelnuts and juicy watermelon are tempered by notes of black tea, river stones and rosemary. A quiet rumble of tannin and a lick of acidity carries the fruit to a moreish finish.

We love drinking this as an alternative to rosé or as a versatile wine to pair with seafood, salty snacks  - think anchovy toast, salt cod brandade or taramasalata. It is equally delicious with earthy grilled vegetables, roast pork, smoked meats and anything with a spicy kick.

Vegan friendly, no added sulphur.

Total production: 100 dozen

Drink: Now to 2027. Delicious with a light chill