The Mentors Perold

This wine is a blend of varieties from regions and sites that have consistently produced wines of outstanding quality and style. In making The Mentors Perold we set out to produce a wine that over time will be recognized as the ultra-premium benchmark in South Africa. Only the best varieties, regions and sites are therefore considered. Our winemaking focuses on balanced structure, concentration and finesse. We utilize a combination of whole-berry fermentation and gentle pump-overs to ensure every bit of flavour is captured, with Pinotage taking priority. For this specific wine, the bunches were handpicked and sorted to ensure only the best of each variety went into the blend. After fermentation, the most promising wines of each cultivar were chosen to mature further in barrel. After 12 months, the best wines were singled out and aged for another six months. This wine is truly about selecting the best-of-the-best.

The 2020 vintage was characterized by generally favourable conditions, improved winter rainfall preceding the growing season and generally mild conditions. This resulted in improved crops in particular in the coastal areas or Swartland, Wellington, Paarl and Stellenbosch. The vintage period was lower in disease pressure than the 2019 vintage but some rainfall during vintage did require careful management. The spring period was unusually warm prompting early bud break and accelerated early growth while, the summer through vintage was mild in terms of temperature with fewer peaks or periods of high temperature. This resulted in an early vintage start and a compressed February finishing earlier than in recent years. Wines show great retention of freshness and flavour with good tannin development and aging potential. We are hugely excited about the quality of the 2020 Vintage.

The wine was matured for 18 months in first-fill French oak barrels.