Cap Maritime, Pinot Noir 2018

The nose offers classic aromas of black cherries, dark plums and mushroom with subtle, earthy whiffs of dried leaves and potting soil. Wild berries, damson and the sous-bois character of the nose follow through onto a powerful palate with good structure and weight and delicate hints of tarragon, dill and cedar. Lively tannins are perfectly balanced with bright acidity and exceptional fruit concentration, creating finesse and complexity. Red liquorice, cardamom and clove linger on a smooth, mouth-watering finish.

The 2018 vintage Pinot Noir yielded compact small bunches due to the dry conditions. The low juice to skin ratio added richness without any overtly ripe fruit. As a result, we were privileged to be able to work with quality grapes yielding a combination of fresh fruit flavours, ripeness and energetic acidity.

For this Pinot Noir, a small parcel of grapes from the Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley was vinified in a way that is fundamentally true to our philosophy. Initially, the grapes were transported in small lug boxes from the Hemel en Aarde Valley to our winery in Franschhoek in refrigerated trucks.

There, a careful triage (selection process) took place, to ensure that only healthy whole berries were transferred into our concrete fermenters. A portion of the grapes was destemmed, leaving a whole-cluster component of about 20% with no additions being made.

After spontaneous fermentation took placet, the wine was basket-pressed into 225L neutral French barriques where it underwent elevage for up to 16 months, including a prolonged malolactic fermentation under low temperatures.

• Alcohol: 13.98% vol
• RS: 1.58 g/l
• TA: 5.2 g/l
• W.O. Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley