🏔 A lovely little exploration into the effect of vineyard altitude and vine age on the quality of a wine. This little patch of Cinsault fruit is grown on red sandstone soils of the Citrusdal Mountains in ClanWilliam at an altitude of 500m ASL. 👃🏼 The altitude allows the vineyard to experience a much higher diurnal range, which in turn gives the ripening grapes to develop some truly delightful aromatic compounds that show exquisitely on the other side of the fermentation process.
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🍇 All this is only magnified by the fact that these grapes are harvested from old bush vines, which deliver a far more concentrated expression of Cinsault. An impressive diurnal range and concentrated fruit from old vines serve as the perfect partnership to negate the two things I like least about the average Cinsault – excessive simplicity and a lack of concentration. Hooray for teamwork!
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🔬 20% of the fruit fermented as whole bunches. Fermentation took place in tank over two weeks. Wine was left on gross lees for 11 months. No oak contact.
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💰 ZAR150.00 (October 2021)