"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."
Tears of Makoto was born from a pet nat we made in 2017 when we were just learning the art form, that we bottled too early and therefore got too pressurised. It is a bittersweet memory because before each bottle became a WMD it was the tastiest pet nat ever made but on the flip-side they were also really fun and exciting times. To save the situation Sam and Barry decanted the bottles that hadn't exploded and made an absolutely delicious rose, a rose so perfect we thought Makoto Nagano himself would shed a single tear.
We haven't made that wine again until now. No wine felt right for it. But here we are. But why now you ask? Well because this rose is insanely tasty and represents a special moment for us; it is Sagrantino from the first vineyard we ever made a wine from as Konpira Maru in 2014 (Chalmers, Merbein Vineyard) combined with the same Dolcetto used to make our Classic Edition Pet Nat. By itself the Dolcetto has a strident but balletic acidity, and combined with the more insouciant Sagrantino you get a multi-faceted rose that is driven yet layered.
Tasting note
A nose of overripe raspberries gives way to a palate of jelly crystals and bright red plum with an aniseed tannin. An astounding compositional triumph of a wine.
