Angus Paul Transient Lands Pinotage 2021
Vineyards
This bottling will be an ongoing project to source, blend and bottle special parcels of Pinotage across the Western Cape and become an expression of each vintage through the grape’s proverbial lens. In 2022 the blend uses four Pinotage blocks: 10% from the granitic Polkadraai Hills above Stellenbosch; 10% from an old vine block (1972 planted) on Helderberg, in Stellenbosch, also granitic soils; 40% from the Stanford Foothills far down the South Coast, employing cooler weather and sandstone derived soils; 40% from the sandy granite soils of the Paardenberg in the Swartland.
Winemaking and Maturation
Grapes are hand picked and cooled overnight. They were then fermented in open-top bins. Of the grapes, 15% were foot trodden whole bunches, and the remainder destemmed. A light sulphur addition was made at crushing. Natural fermentation took place over 10 days after which a maceration was carried out until the tannins had developed satisfactorily (about 5 more days). After draining, the remaining grapes were pressed to old wooden barrels. A spontaneous malolactic fermentation then took place, and in early Autumn wines were sulphured for the first time. Wines were bottled in December after having spent 11 months in barrel with no racking.
Tasting Notes
This vintage shows a fine balance of delicacy and power. The wine shows a slight cracked pepper character backed up by waves of dark red fruit: cherries, cranberry, crushed strawberries. The palate is equally fruit forward and primary, but complemented by the cracked pepper character, slight reduction and firm structure.
Though Pinotage is born of two grapes known for delicacy, stylistically it is usually geared toward power. This bottling shows a more classic interpretation, one that required no manipulation or box-squeezing to achieve.
Technical Details
Alc: 13.18%
T.A.: 5.2 g/L
R.S.: 2.0 g/L
pH: 3.65
