Wine Composition
100% Pinotage
Winemakers Comments
Color - Luminescent dark cherry. Aroma - Lifted Mulberry and Damson, mildly earthy. Taste - Excellent balance, finely integrated tannins threading through from start to finish. Morello cherry with a touch of earthiness.
Technical Analysis
Alcohol Percentage
13%
TA
4.6g/l
RS
1.5g/l
Vineyard / Cellar Techniques
A small and singular parcel of mature, dryland farmed bush vine Pinotage measuring just 1.3 hectares and planted back in 1994. Now the last of its kind to be found on the maritime slopes of the Schapenberg, where the original commercial plantings of Pinotage took place. This rare little block sits just 6km from False Bay on a steep, elevated and cooler slope. Soils are stony and well-drained and therefore low-vigour. However, they are also blessed with a deep red/yellow clay sub-soil enabling good moisture retention, which is essential on the Schapenberg as this hillside has the lowest rainfall in Stellenbosch. Due to these low vigour soils, a lack of irrigation, incessant wind and the eschewal of synthetic fertilisers the berry-size and yield are tiny at just over 3tons/ha or 18hl/ha. Good things really do often come in small packages and the up- side here is healthy grapes with excellent balanced concentration.
Winemaker
Name - Nadia Barnard
Winery
Waterkloof is located on the southwest facing, low-yielding and windswept slopes of Schapenberg (overlooking False Bay). Here the blustery southeastern (and sometimes the northwest wind as well) churns up the vineyards with regularity. This not only allows for a very low yield, but the flavours intensify a flinty minerality.
We use organic and biodynamic winemaking methods and adhere to Old World, sustainable practices in our vineyards to ensure that the vines are nourished and in balance. Our soils are free of chemicals and are kept healthy by using plant extracts, fungi, and bacteria from our own organic compost.
The two single vineyard blocks which we used are about four kilometers from the sea and are planted at a height of between 270 and 300 meters above sea level. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium-sized stones, helping with drainage and moisture retention. The vineyards are 20 years old.
+1 888 812 2543