Simply put, “late disgorged” means the wine has spent more time in the bottle “on lees” after the second fermentation.
There are a few very good reasons for having longer times on lees:
- The autolysis flavours that are imparted from the dead yeast (lees) add the yeasty, brioche, nutty, creamy flavours to the wine;
- The structure and complexity of the wine develops further;
- The proteins in the lees bind with the acids, making the wine less sharp and reducing the amount of dosage (added sugar) required to balance the wine when disgorged;
- The yeast has an amazing ability to protect the wine against oxidation whilst it remains on lees, meaning when the wine is disgorged after this long period, it is still young and fresh; and
- The longer the time on lees, the finer the bubbles are in the finished wine, and that gives more of the lovely aroma and texture in the mouth when you first taste it.
After disgorging the wine continues to mature and settle. It is said that the time kept post-disgorging can be as long as the time spent on lees. For Viridian, that would be up to another 10 years. We try to give the wine a minimum of 12 months post-disgorging, but it can also be cellared at home for several years.