Grangehurst, Pinotage 2012 MAGNUM

Name: Grangehurst, Pinotage 2012 MAGNUM
SKU: 6009621100632
Price: 55.10 GBP
Availability: InStock

Handcrafted. Traditional. Unhurried.
These three words epitomise Jeremy Walker’s winemaking, with one notable omission – Delicious. By ‘Unhurried’, Jeremy is alluding to the fact that he doesn’t release a wine until he believes it is ready to be enjoyed, which is evident in the current vintages being 2008, 2009 and 2011!

Jeremy Walker founded Grangehurst in 1992, when he converted his fathers’ squash court into a makeshift wine production cellar. He used the ‘squash court cellar’ to make his first 6 vintages, only moving out after the 1998 vintage.

Jeremy was invited to join the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild in 1996 and was one of the longest standing members when, in order to let a young winemaker take his place in the spotlight, he elected to step down in 2021.

Grapes were destalked, sorted and crushed before fermentation, in open topped vessels, to allow for up to 6 punchdowns a day. The wine was then basket pressed and moved to 225l oak barrels (both French and American), in which it underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged for 23 months before bottling.

Dark ruby/garnet colour; red berry and plummy fruitiness with vanilla, oak and spice; full on the palate with smooth, robust tannins.

£55.10

Stellenbosch

Pinotage

LightFull Bodied

Description

GRAPE VARIETIES
Pinotage 89% (Cabernet Sauvignon 11%)
ORIGIN
Selected from a prime bush vine vineyard in the Helderberg, Stellenbosch that was planted in 1994. The
southerly summer sea-breezes that blow over the cool waters of False Bay contribute greatly to the quality of
the grapes from this low-yielding vineyard, which is located approximately 5 km from the coast.
HARVEST DATES
The Pinotage grapes were harvested on the 26th and 27th of January 2012 at sugar levels of 25.5º Balling. The
yield in 2012 was around 3 tons per hectare of optimally ripe, quality grapes – small berries with good colour
and concentration.
WINEMAKING
After destalking, sorting and crushing the grapes, the mash was fermented in open tanks for 7 days on the
skins. The cap of skins was punched down and mixed with the juice 6 times per day to ensure optimum
extraction of colour, tannin and flavours. The basket pressed wine was blended with the free-run wine in
stainless steel tanks before being transferred to small oak barrels. The malolactic fermentation occurred in
tanks and barrels.
CLARIFICATION
This wine was clarified according to the settling and racking method, which does not involve the use of any
fining agents, centrifuges or filters – a natural, unhurried method of clarifying wine.
BARREL MATURATION
The wine from this Pinotage vineyard was matured in oak barrels and then blended with four barrels of
Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines spent an average of 20 months in 225 litre French (94%) and American (6%)
oak barrels. NOTE: The varietal on the label must be at least 85% – after blending with four barrels of Cabernet
Sauvignon, the Pinotage component complied with this requirement (89% Pinotage).
BOTTLING
After racking and blending, the wine was stored in a stainless steel tank before being bottled using our gentle
gravity flow filling system. The wine flowed from the elevated bottling tanks through a cartridge filter to the hand
filler and into the bottles. This was the only stage during the entire winemaking process that the wine was
filtered.
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 14.2% by volume (14.0% on label)
Residual Sugar: 2.9 g/l
Total Acidity: 6.1 g/l
pH: 3.54
COMMENTS
There was not enough maiden vintage (1992) Pinotage to fill our stainless steel tank – so we filled the tank
with Cabernet Sauvignon (8%). So started the Grangehurst “recipe” of blending between 8% and 14%
Cabernet Sauvignon with our Pinotage. The Cabernet provides an interesting dimension of fruit, tannin and
additional acidity – which contribute to the complexity and balance of Grangehurst Pinotage.
TASTING NOTES
Dark ruby/garnet colour; red berry and plummy fruitiness with vanilla, oak and spice; full on the palate with
smooth, robust tannins. Enjoy this wine with fine cuisine such as seared tuna, tagliatelle carbonara, bobotie or
springbok pie. Ageing potential up to 20 years from vintage if cellared correctly.