Bay of Fires wines, apart from having both an awesome name and an exceptional location, do an excellent line of white wines.  When we rocked up to do a tasting, in late June, it was very quiet and very, very beautiful.  A lot of the Tamar Valley wineries close up the cellar door during June, or limit which wines they will open for tasting, to minimise waste (no point opening up a sampler bottle of everything if nobody drops in for a tasting over the next week or two).  Bay of Fires was only offering whites on the day we arrived, and I’m glad: there’s no way we could have kept to our budget if their reds were as good as their whites.

The 2008 Pinot Gris is a really fine drop.  There is a strong trinity of pear, apple and pineapple flavours: pear is definitely the defining note, however.  Combined with very faint nutmeg and very, very faint citrus, the result is a light, singing palate that is neither airy nor weighty.  There is a sense of fine construction, beginning with gentle apple notes that warm into pear, then sharpen into citrus and pineapple, before softening to pear and spices and then leaving a final, lingering thread of pear.  This is a wine that, I think, would suffer if it was over-chilled: don’t let your enthusiasm for cold white wine overtake you (not that I’m suggesting it should be served room temperature, just don’t serve it too cold). And certainly don’t chill the glasses for this one.