88pts/Wine Spectator, 88pts/Tanzer and 4 Stars/Platter's Guide 2005 for this Pinotage from Stellenbosch, South Africa

Tasting Notes

7/6/05 The last couple of releases of this wine seemed to have been under the radar so to speak, maybe good when you are driving but not so if you are trying to sell or make wine. This latest release, at least in our market, shows Pinotage in a positive light with its higher pitched dark red berry, currant and plum fruit with a nice infusion of spice cake, as well as subtle whiffs of smoke and well integrated toasty oak. The palate has good depth to the darker red berry fruit, round and fleshy in texture, sweet in the mid palate, backed with fine-grained tannins and an end note of earth and cedar spice coming through on the lengthy finish without any bitterness on the backend.

Awards, Reviews and other Notes

4 Stars / John Platter's Guide to South African Wines 2005
88pts, Wine Spectator, May 31, 2004 Ripe and juicy, with dark plum and boysenberry flavors, and sweet spice and toast notes. Shows more polish than most Pinotages, with a full, fleshy finish. Drink now through 2005. 800 cases made.– J.M.

88pts, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Mar/Apr 05, #119 (from 30-year-old vines) Full red-ruby. Aromas of black cherry, chocolate, menthol and spice cake. Plump, sweet and very ripe, with subtle notes of smoke and burning tobacco. At once suave and serious, finishing with building, dusty tannins and very good length.

Winemaker Notes

Viticultural practices: The vines are bush vines and were planted in 1967. The clone is unknown as they were already planted in the vineyard when Dave Hidden bought the property. The soil is sandy loam.
Yields per acre: 3.18 tons per acres (6,9 tons per ha)
Number of cases per item produced: ± 1900 x 12 x 750ml
Appellation: Devon Valley in the Stellenbosch District.
Filtration & fining: No fining; clarification by natural settling & racking method; one filtration prior to bottling.
Varietal composition: Pinotage 97% & Cabernet Sauvignon 3%
Wood treatment: 225 litre barrels – 78% French, 22% American (1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th fill)
Length of barrel maturation: ± 11 months
Winemaker's notes: The grapes were handpicked into small lug baskets and transported to Grangehust Winery for destalking and crushing by well-known vintner, Jeremy Walker. The mash was fermented in open red fermenters (“kuipe”), with regular punching through of the skins until dry, at a temperature of ± 30 degrees C. After pressing, the free-run and press wines were blended and pumped into 225 litre barrels. The wine was racked out of the barrels and was bottled in October 2002.

Chemical Analysis

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SKU

Varietal

Alcohol: 14.61%
pH: 3.61
Total Acid: 5.8 grams / litre
Residual Sugar: 2.8 grams / litre
Free/Total Sulfur: Free 36/Total 80

$12.99

5061

Pinotage