In the glass
Medium, lemon, clear. The mousse dissipates quickly, but there are fine, persistent bubbles. It doesn’t look particularly cloudy, like many pet nats do, since they are unfined and unfiltered. That may be bottle variation, which tends to be noticeable in these wines.
The nose
Possibly a hint of lemon. Or possibly not. It’s pretty much a coin-toss.
The palate
Lemon, crips, dry. Cold. That last one isn’t completely irrelevant. I probably need to check the temperature of my fridge, since this was a bit on the too-chilly side. It has a medium body, with good acidity. Although as I let the wine sit in my mouth to enjoy the sensation and think about the mouthfeel, I start to think the acidity might eat away at tooth enamel if given too much of a chance.
No apple, or cider aspect at first.
It takes me a moment to realise this is the most non-pet-nat-y pet nat I’ve ever had, in a very long time, or perhaps ever. Many (most?) pet nats tend to have a sort of cidery aspect to them, and I recall one with a hint of something like oatmeal. This doesn’t have that. It’s clean, crisp, lemon.
Once it warms up a bit, I do pick up some green apple, but still mostly citrus, and a hint of peach. It does get a more like most pet nats that I’ve had as it warms up. (Duty compelled me to keep going, and try the wine as it and the evening progressed.)
It could rather easily pass for a ‘regular’ sparkling wine.
Rating
Yummy-plus overall. Visual – pretty. If I were being a bit more critical, I might downgrade it to just ‘Yummy,’ but I’m factoring in the non-pet-nat-ness of it. And, if I ever get around to implementing the unusualness scale, it would get a mention there as well.
Sustainability
Biodynamic, although not certified. Wild ferment, low intervention.
The technical info
11.5% ABV. Sipon (aka Furmint). £23.49 from King Street Cellar.