Pinotage
Very deep dark colour. Extremely dark, with a typical almost plum like colour rim. Lot of fruit on the nose with some forest floor, lavender and mocha. A complex palate with oodles of fruit like raspberry, strawberry and even some tomato paste. A big, bold wine with a good dollop of oak and definitely a wine for the long run. Great complexity, length and structure in this perfect Stellenbosch Red. Enjoy 2020 till 2030.
3,870 Ft 750 ml
27 in stock
| Weight | 1.5 kg |
|---|---|
| Colour | red |
| Style | |
| Évjárat |
| Region | Stellenbosch, South Africa |
|---|
| Grape Varieties | 100% Pinotage |
|---|---|
| Alcohol Percentage | 14.5 % |
| Ph | 3.49 |
| Acidity | 5.8 g/L |
| Serve temperature | 16-18°C |
| Litre Price (HUF) | HUF 8600 / Litre |
| Aggregated Critic Score | 89 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Average User Rating | 4 Stars |
In the Cellar
A new release of a favourite of our estate and a wine we make since our first harvest in 1997. Vintage 2017 was just fantastic, perfect growing conditions with moderate temperatures, combined with enough moisture produced small concentrated berries. This wine is a stunner. This is as typical as full bodied real Pinotage gets in the Simonsberg – Stellenbosch appellation. We have only one block of Pinotage on the farm. It is a block that is 17 years old, bush vine and that gets no irrigation. This is ideal for this grape because the lower the yield the better the wine. We usually start hand picking the first week of February. Pinotage is by far the earliest red grape in South – Africa. We destem, sort manually and then crash before the mash is moved softly by peristaltic pump to 5 ton open top fermentation tanks. Selected yeast is added and we chill the grapes down for 24 hours. Not cold soak but we do not want the fermentation to start to quickly. The grape is, like one of its parents Pinot Noir, extremely fast with fermentation and we try to avoid this to give us more time for manual punches. Yes, we still do everything manually and punch the cap every 2 hours for the first 36 hours. Total skin contact before pressing is usually around 4 days. This is rather quick but we do not want to extract too much of the tannin towards the end of the fermentation when the alcohol plays a huge part in softening it. After pressing we add all the press juice and inoculate with a selected malolactic bacteria. After MLF we rack and add a lot of sulphur before filling the wine to French oak barrels for 12 months. We do maximum 30 % new but will even go lower than that in future to really express the fruit of this native grape more. The wine is sterile bottled.
About the winery: Laibach
At Laibach Vineyards they are committed to producing wines of outstanding quality, that best reflect the unique terroir and the microclimate of the Simonsberg ward near Stellenbosch, one of South Africa’s prime wine-growing areas for noble cultivars. They are committed to using a blend of tradition and innovation, fostering a philosophy of continuous improvement.
The Stellenbosch Region
The historical town of Stellenbosch, the ‘town of oaks’, boasts a winemaking tradition that stretches back to the mid-17th century. Stellenbosch is the business hub of the South African wine industry. The town is also the educational and research centre of the winelands. Stellenbosch University is the only university in South Africa that offers a degree in viticulture and oenology, and many of the country’s most successful winemakers are alumni. Stellenbosch has the most vineyard plantings in the winelands. Conditions in this district are particularly well suited to many of the noble grapevine varieties. The rapidly increasing number of wine estates and producers (more than 200) includes some of the most famous names in Cape wine. The district, with its mix of historic estates and contemporary wineries, produces excellent examples of almost all the noble wine grape varieties and is known for its blended reds. The Simonsberg-Stellenbosch ward encompasses several well-known estates and private cellars. The wines from this ward are predominantly red, made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz, with wines made from the locally bred Pinotage variety also regularly reaping awards locally and internationally. There are four wards already demarcated in the hills of Bottelary in the Stellenbosch district, all of them again benefiting from cooling summer breezes. These are Papegaaiberg, Devon Valley, Bottelary and Polkadraai Hills. Several estates and private cellars have distinguished themselves in terms of quality wines in these wards, especially the Bottelary ward, Pinotage again being prominent here. The scenic Jonkershoek Valley is home to several top producers and boutique wineries. The higher elevations and textured soils make the valley ideal for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties. Banghoek is relatively new as a viticultural area with most vineyards planted in the last 20 years. It is mainly known for Sauvignon Blanc and red Bordeaux varieties.
