Grangehurst, Pinotage 2012

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.

Additional information

Pan seared venison loin with herb and wholegrain mustard crust.