Description
Grapes come from two cool, maritime bush-vine Pinotage vineyards planted just off the shoreline of the South Atlantic, near False Bay. The sites have a high diurnal range, with daytime temperatures cooler than inland Stellenbosch and ocean winds during the growing season. One site consists of light-textured sandier topsoil with decomposed granite, while the other is more rooted in clay-portioned granite.
Bernhard doesn’t own the vineyards but works closely with the owners and is allowed to manage his own plots. He works organically and sustainably but is not certified. Sites are dry farmed and weeded by hand around the vines. Lush cover crops are grown between the rows, suppressing unwanted weeds.
25% of the grapes are fermented whole bunch in open-top vessels. 50% is de-stemmed and only left on skins for three hours before pressing and fermentation separately in tank (without skins). The final 25% was fermented, destemmed, and fermented in open-top vessels. Ferments are handled gently with no punching-down. Once fermentation has finished, the wines are manually basket-pressed and blended. The resulting blend is allowed to go through malolactic fermentation while aging on lees for eight months before racking and bottling unfiltered and unfined. The wine has trace amounts of SO₂.
Cherry, cranberry, and raspberry plus a subtle herbal note on the nose, while the palate is light-bodied, juicy, and fresh with a slight earthy quality to the finish.
