Wolf & Woman Wines Pinotage Swartland
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ABOUT Pinotage is something Jolandie always knew she wanted to make but it is by far her biggest challenge. It is an untamed beast in many ways and deserves the highest respect of the winemaker in order to eschew the less than desirable notes and instead focus on the purity and nuance the grape actually has. Being a cross between Cinsault and Pinot Noir, Jolandie never understood why anyone would look to change the inherent DNA by making it in a manner like Bordeaux varieties. She opts for freshness and vitality in all of her decisions from the vineyard to the bottle, and this way you can still recognize the personalities and traits of the parents. The fruit was hand-harvested over two picks from two sites on the Paardeberg and then brought back to the cellar for three days of cold soaking. After that, 15% of the fruit was left fully intact with the rest being destemmed, but not crushed. Fermentation occurred without any additions in open-top fermenters with the whole-clusters being placed on top of the destemmed fruit. One gentle punchdown per day was done in order to break up the fruit a bit and to achieve the appropriate amount of extraction. After 12 days on skins the fruit was pressed to a combination of old 300L and 500L French barrels for maturation. Following ten months of aging on the fine lees, the wine was bottled without fining and just a gentle filtration and small sulfur addition. DATA Grapes: 100% Pinotage Vineyard: Paardeberg (90% Joubertskloof Valley - 10% Aprilskloof Valley) Vine Age: 51-years-old (Joubertskloof) - 25-years-old (Aprilskloof) Soil Type: Decomposed granite Viticulture: Sustainable – dry-farmed Fermentation: Native – open-top plastic fermenters (15% whole-cluster - 85% whole-berry) Skin Contact: 12 days Aging: 10 months in neutral 300L & 500L French barrels Alcohol: 12.8% pH: 3.7 Total Acidity: 5.1 g/L Total SO2: 60 ppm Total Production: 408 cases UPC: 6009648141384 TASTING NOTE Bright crimson. This is all about dark red cherries, red currants, herbs, and a dash of cumin. Concentrated but elegant and fully in balance, this is not your stereotypical oaky, fruit-bomb Pinotage. It is elegant and balanced and represents the best of new wave South African wine. PRESS Tim Atkin, MW | 95 Vinous | 91 The WineMag | 93