English Red Wines
Litmus Wines Red Pinot Noir 2022
Raspberry and clove, an earthy spiciness and a long finish
Like many of Litmus’ wines since 2013, this Pinot Noir was produced from grapes grown in the Crouch Valley, Essex. In this case, the grapes were grown at Martin’s Lane Vineyard. Picked on the 19th October, after the fabulously hot summer of 2022, the fruit from Martin’s Lane vineyard was outstanding. The wine was cold soaked on skins and fermented with 10% of the stalks added back in a punchdown fermenter. The wine was then aged in french oak barriques (33% new, 33% one year old and 33% older). Winemaker John Worontschak describes it as no less than ‘the finest example of Pinot Noir I have ever seen’.
John Worontschak is the chief wine maker, who has developed the Litmus range. John has been making English wine since 1988. In 2010 John decided to create the first Litmus wine, Element 20; the concept was to move away from the traditional fruity and often one dimensional English wine styles. The Litmus range is a culmination of John’s experience and the wines are designed to highlight the very best of cool climate English style wines, promoting balance, complexity and length of flavour.
The wine is dedicated to Roy Martin, founder of Martin’s Lane Vineyard, who tragically and unexpectedly passed away in June 2023.