2024 Ministry of Clouds Picpoul

Lip-smacking, racy version of this lovely emerging white variety in McLaren Vale.

Price:
Sale price$36.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship, only 1 unit left
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

Picpoul might be a newcomer to Australian soils, but it’s been a Mediterranean favourite for centuries, and with this 2024 vintage, Ministry of Clouds has nailed it!

Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood, the dynamic duo behind Ministry of Clouds, have put their decade of winemaking expertise to great use here. Sourced from their own McLaren Vale vineyard, this Picpoul is zesty, fresh, and seriously slurpable. 

The citrus-driven acidity keeps it light on its feet, while the extra time on lees adds a lovely creaminess that gives it a little more substance. It’s all nashi pear, lime blossom, and a whiff of white flowers on the nose, while the palate is pure, salty goodness with a minerally finish that leaves you wanting another glass.

Picpoul may mean "lip stinger" in French, but this bottle is all about smooth, summer sipping, best paired with a plate of freshly shucked oysters. If you’re a fan of crisp, high-acid whites like Riesling, this Picpoul will be your new go-to.

Picpoul translates as Lip Stinger in French but is our new summer sipper - the ancient white
variety of the Mediterranean Coast farmed since the 1300’s and famed for its lemony power and natural ability to retain acid in the sunshine! Briny and maritime in its disposition Picpoul is renowned as the perfect Oyster wine

CREATION

The fruit for this wine is 100% estate grown, planted into the ancient Onkaparinga Rocks of our vineyard - The Chase. Perched high atop the range overlooking McLaren Vale our lean and rocky site is perfect for limiting Picpoul's potential yield. To provide further intensity we both shoot thinned and dropped bunches to ensure perfectly even ripening, then hand picked to retain delicacy. Whole bunch pressed, settled by gravity, and rough racked to stainless for a cool ferment on light solids with wild yeast. 20% of the blend was treated more oxidatively and fermented wild in neutral old wood to build further complexity. Post ferment the wine was left on fine lees for a further 5 months to build mid palate texture and
depth.

COMPOSITION

A refreshingly sherbet-like and gently aromatic wine, with lifted notes of white flowers, wax, nashi pear, and lime blossom. In the mouth this crisp and crunchy vibe continues with an intense fleshy verbena line, plus the minerality of limestone, brine and a subtle creaminess from the lees makes it mouthwatering!

CONSUMPTION

Ideal serving temperature is 10°C, drink with South Australian oysters from Pristine or Gazander - freshly shucked - served natural or with a splash of Picpoul

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Body Light Bodied
Variety Piquepoul
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Feature Women in Wine
Size 12

Ministry of Clouds

Ministry of Clouds is a partnership between wine industry 'veterans' Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood, who set up the venture in 2013, with their first releases coming in 2015.

Having worked for some of Australia's leading wineries such as Yalumba and Wirra Wirra, the duo began sourcing outstanding fruit from Tasmania and Clare Valley for white wines, and McLaren Vale for reds.

McLaren Vale is their home, and as well as their own 11ha plot, they seek out old vineyards around the peninsula, with a focus on Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz and Tempranillo, along with the occasional foray into Carignan and Picpoul.

Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood Discover Ministry of Clouds

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message