Fairview Pinotage Wine, 75 cl (Case of 3)

Fairview Pinotage is dark purple in the glass. Smoky notes and intense dark fruit aromas are framed by spiced oak. On the palate, fleshy black fruits and firm tannins develop into lingering flavours of spice and dark coffee. A full-bodied wine with well-balanced fruit acidity. Pinotage is a classic South African variety and originates from a 1925 cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (known as Hermitage in South Africa). The Fairview Pinotage was harvested from older bush vines in the Agter- Paarl and from trellised vineyards on the Fairview farm in Paarl. These older bush vines are dry farmed and grown on deep, Malmesbury Shales soils, whilst the trellised vines are drip irrigated. A long cool summer in 2012 allowed the grapes to ripen slowly, benefitting the dryland vineyards in Malmesbury as well as the vineyards in Paarl. The grapes reached phenolic ripeness at lower sugar levels and the resulting wines have ripe soft tannins and complex aromas. The grapes were picked over a number of days at average sugar levels of 25.5 Baume. The bunches were destalked and lightly crushed before fermentation in stainless steel tanks. After malolactic fermentation was completed, the wine spent ten months in used French and American oak barrels, before blending and bottling. It comes with the vintage information as follows: Vintage: 2012; Winemaker: Anthony de Jager; Closure: Stelvin; Alcohol (ABV): 14%; Acidity: 5.5g/l; Residual Sugar: 2.6g/l; Wine pH: 3.47.