Angus Paul, On A Flight Of Furious Fancies Chenin Blanc 2023

Description

One site: the Polkadraai Hills; one grape: Chenin blanc. This bottling currently uses one vineyard, on Karibib farm on False Bay. The boney granite soils inexplicably, but undeniably, in concert with the harsh winds of the South Easter, provide a racy expression of Chenin blanc grown in a warm climate.
We like to think of this as what ought to be as quintessentially a South African wine as can be: old vine Chenin, grown without irrigation on the coastal hillsides of Stellenbosch.

WINEMAKING
Grapes are hand picked and cooled overnight. The following morning they are put into the press and pressed as whole bunches. No sulphur, yeast, acid, enzymes or water were added.
Very cloudy juice was transferred to neutral oak barrels, with only the heaviest of solids left behind. Fermentation took place over 4 weeks, after which about half of the barrels completed malolactic fermentation. In Autumn wines were sulphured for the first time. Wines were bottled in December after having spent 11 months in barrel with no racking or fining.

TASTING NOTE
This vintage is open in body and tight in texture: kelp, citrus creams and apples jump forth. The palate is equally tight, but rounder than previous vintages. The acidity is ripe and rushes across the palate with waves of white stone fruit and golden delicious apples.

THE NAME
Inspired by an anonymous Medieval English poem, “Tom O’Bedlam”. This can be read many ways – it is quite literally a tale of us going off in flight and producing, zealously, this wine project. Or of the historic South African wine industry as a whole, producing wine in the corner of this mysterious continent. Or more recently, of the pioneering winemakers of the last 25 years, revitalising the industry. Or, in a profound sense, this Bacchic compulsion as humans, that wherever we go, we must make wine.

ANALYSIS
Alc: 12.61%
T.A.: 6.3 g/L
R.S.: 1.0 g/L
pH: 3.21

Additional information

Sesame crusted tuna tataki with pickled radish and avocado salad.