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VIDEO CHAPTER INDEX

00:00 – SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: OLD VINE GRENACHE vs YOUNG VINE GRENACHE

00:40 – TIERHOEK AS TOLD MY GOOGLE MAPS

01:20 – ALL ABOUT THE TIERHOEK VINEYARDS

02:23 – OTHER WINEMAKERS WHO GET FRUIT FROM TIERHOEK

02:35 – ALL ABOUT GRENACHE AROUND THE WORLD

03:53 – A BIT ABOUT GRENACHE IN SOUTH AFRICA

04:31 – WHAT DOES THE TIERHOEK OLD VINE GRENACHE TASTE LIKE?

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Tierhoek is a small producer located in the Piekenierskloof region of the Swartland at somewhere between 600m and 700m ASL. They produce eight wines each vintage, but their reputation is built quite strongly on their certified Old Vine Project Chenin Blanc and Old Vine Project Grenache Noir. What makes them more interesting, in the mind of the casual wine geek, is that they treat their conventional bottlings of Chenin and Grenache in a very similar fashion to their old vine bottles, which – when drunk side by side – helps to illuminate the qualities that Old Vines can bring to a wine. But what’s in the bottle?

👃🏼 The vanguard carries blood orange, toffee apple, red liquorice, crushed gravel, and honeybush tea.

👄 The palate is light and fresh, with elements of strawberry preserve, raspberry, and cherry sherbet. There is a lovely pithy texture towards the finish, so even though it feels like a quaffer upfront, it very quickly evolves into something far more persistent. That sherbet and sour cherry tail lingers quite delightfully.

🔬The fruit is harvested from old vines planted in 1977. Grapes were fermented using native yeasts, and then kept on the skins for a week after fermentation finished. Matured in old oak barrels for 9 months.

💰 R260.00 (as of May 2022)