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#359 Julien Schaal Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir

Technical Specs

🔬 Wine of Origin Walker Bay. The fruit for this wine was harvested from two single vineyards. One sits inland, West of the Babylon Mountains, at an altitude of 144m ASL, and the other sits up at 240m ASL in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Wine Ward. Both vineyards are planted with the Burgundy clones 113 and 115. The fruit is fermented using only native yeasts, with 10 – 20% of the clusters undergoing whole-bunch fermentation. The wine is matured in oak for 11 months, with 25% of the being new oak.

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The Flying Winemakers of the New World

There is a remarkable chapter in the global history of wine where young, modern, technologically-minded new world winemakers would fly to the Old World in search of adventure… and a little extra cash. Many of them ended up in the South of France, aghast at the awful cellar hygiene and generally outdated techniques embodied by their often myopic French counterparts.

The more progressive amongst these French counterparts recognised that there was something to be learnt from these young upstarts, and began implementing some of the New World habits that these “flying winemakers” brought over with them. The result for the French was something of a mini winemaking revolution in the South – one that would serve the region well as they sought to recapture some of the global market share that they hold lost to producers from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Argentina.

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Performing an “Inverse Aussie”

But in South Africa something altogether contrary seems to be happening. The tip of the African continetn seems to have captured the hearts of many an Old-World flying winemaker, who leave their traditional homegrounds, and seek vinous adventure in the exciting emerging wine scene in some of South Africa’s emerging wine regions.

Julien and Sophie Schaal are two such winemakers who have been coming back to South Africa – vintage after vintage for almost two decades now, and the prowess with which they express South African sites improves with every new release.

This video covers the Julien Schaal Pinot Noir 2023, and also talks a little about the work of Sophie Schaal and her range of South African wines. If you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs:

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TASTING NOTES

This wine is cleaner than a Cliff Richard Christmas album.

👃🏼 an unbelievably pretty wine! Rose petals, red liquorice, cherry lifesaver candy, and a touch of musk

👄 the palate performs the delightfully unexpected ask of building on those aromas with elements of juicy blood orange, and some tart citrus peel. The finish is a lovely mix of tangy fresh cranberry and sweeter cherry candy.