DEEP ROOTED WINES Touch Me Verdelho 2024

The 2024 vintage saw the continuation of carbonic maceration rather than skin contact as the fermentation technique (the same as in 2022). The Verdelho grapes were harvested from a single vineyard in Bot River. The whole clusters were loaded into a single 400L barrel and were left to ferment via carbonic maceration with native yeast. When fermentation was complete, the wine was pressed off the skins and it went back to barrel for 11 months of aging. At that point, it was racked to tank and bottled without filtering or any sulfur addition.

Total Production: 66 cases

Tim Atkin, MW | 93 points

Platter's Guide | 93 points

Notes of pear, apricot, and hay give way to a round, zingy mouth with tongue-coating tannins. Dried stone fruits linger in the mouth. Very expressive and tactile.

The rather evocative name and naughty label for this seductively soft and delicious wine is not chosen just for thrills. Mark wants the drinker to experience this wine through multiple senses. We often focus on smell and taste as the main organoleptic markers of a wine, but this wine proves that texture should not be overlooked. Mark wants you to “touch” this wine, noting the gentle phenolic grip that lends presence while a waxy layer coats your tongue and lingers almost indefinitely.