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Method behind mad monikers

The “& Clarke” range of wines is a fascinating project co-ordinated by wine distributor David Clarke – founder of Ex Animo; a wine distribution company that has operations both in Australia and South Africa. Both David and his wife Jeannette are members of the court of Master Sommeliers, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better combination of business savvy meshed inextricably with an extraordinary depth of wine knowledge. His portfolio of producers is the absolute stuff of dreams; including producers like Scions of Sinai, Lukas van Loggerenberg, Trizanne Barnard, Intellego, Hogan Wines, and Restless River.

But with today’s wine; the Bredell, Bredell, & Clarke Pinotage 2019, he is less of a wine distributor and more of a playmaker; someone who manages to connect the hugely important roles that various people play in the sensory journey that grapes take from vine to wine glass. The idea behind each &Clarke project is to highlight first the viticulturist (in this case Pieter Bredell), followed by the winemaker (Bernhard Bredell), followed finally by…well, he just calls himself “the Clark”, but essentially the presence of his name on the label reminds us that sometimes just spotting the potential in a patch of vineyards, and connecting the people who can realise that potential is all that is required to create something that makes the world a better place!

Now, if you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you won’t be able to sip along as we discuss the various roleplayers, and the nature of the wine they produced. BUT to try and dull the pain a little, I have left my tasting notes, as well as a few technical specs:
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👃🏼 Rich aromas of roasted black plum and wild blackberry, intermingled with smoked meats, and a touch of cocoa dust.

👄  Palate is delightfully savoury and structured. Those smoky elements from the aromas feature quite strongly on the palate, along with a really interesting mix of those wild blackberry elements and also a sort toasty element that you get from the crispy top of a plum pudding.
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Wine of origin Stellenbosch. 100% Pinotage. The vineyards are farmed on Rustenhof Farm, by owner Pieter Bredell, and fruit is sourced from a dry-land farmed block of old bushvines planted in 1976. The wine is produced by winemaker Bernhard Bredell in his cellar at Scions of Sinai Wines. It is spontaneously fermented in open-top fermenters, and then matured in second-fill oak for 11 months.