Fairview - 'Extrano' Red Blend, Coastal Region - 2016 (750ml)

Wine Composition

71% Tempranillo, 19% Grenache Noir, 10% Carignan,

Winemakers Comments

Beautifully scented, this wine has blackberries, plums, and cocoa on the nose. Its lovely concentration whisks together sour cherry and spicy tones alongside elegant, linear, and firm tannins — a robust, impressive red with good aging potential. 

Previous Awards

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage 

14%

TA

5.4 g/l

pH 

3.46

RS

3 g/l

Cellar Techniques

The grapes handpicked, and the grapes sorted into open-top French Oak Foudres for fermentations. The Grenache and Carignan included some whole bunches (20%) during fermentation. Punch-downs took place daily, and the grapes were basket-pressed after fermentation. The wine was matured in French and American oak barrels (of which 20% was in new barrels) for 24 months. Each component of the blend is kept separately and barrel selected for the mix before bottling. 

Winemaker

Name:  Anthony de Jager 

Winery

The Fairview winery at the foothills of the Paarl Mountains was one of the very first wineries to be founded at the Cape in 1693. Just six years later, the first wine was produced. After a turbulent history, Charles Back, grand-father of today's owner with the same name, purchased the farm in 1937 and gave it a new lease of life. Since that time, the estate has been run by the third generation of the Back family - quite successfully. True to the motto 'Go where the terroir is', Charles Back revised the concept of Fairview in the 1980s and experimented with lesser-known grape varieties. This does not only allow a larger variety of wines and optimal conditions for the ripening time of the grapes, but also innovative wine creations which are closely linked with tradition. 

The combination of innovation and tradition also mirrored in the unusual crest of the winery. The goat has become the estate's mascot long ago and has become part of Fairview's identity. A legend goes that some errant members of Fairview's long-established goatherd once escaped from their paddock into the Fairview vineyards after Charles Back's young son Jason accidentally left the gate open. The little group happily roamed among the vineyards, showing rare discernment by selecting some of the ripest berries from the vines. Those berries have been used to make this white blend, a light, bright green, medium-bodied wine with aromas of apricots and pear and zesty acidity.