Pinot Noir

Roast Pork with herbs and fennel or rack of venison- served medium.

When David and Genevieve Curl purchased an apple farm in the Elgin valley in 2010, they immediately planted a 3.12-hectare parcel of Pinot Noir on a ridge with ancient of clay-rich Bokkeveld shale. Clones 667 and 777 on rootstock 101-14 were chosen to capitalise on Elgin’s cool climate terroir. Focused on the ultimate goal of crafting small quantities of premium Pinot Noir, the vineyard’s planting density of 6250 vines per hectare encourages stiff competition between the vines, resulting in better flavour and concentration in the fruit.

After eight months the individual meticulously selected components were racked before blending, then returned to barrel for a final eight months of maturation and integration.

As such, harvest took place across five picking days spread between 15 February and 20 February 2019. NDVI technology was used to achieve uniformity in the vineyard with regards to phenolic ripeness, and therefore the decision to pick on different dates enabled focus on various slopes, and the two clones within the vineyard instead of different pockets within each block. Low disease pressure in the vineyards assisted the desired spontaneous fermentation in the cellar, with only two batches inoculated with a locally isolated yeast strain to fully express the character of the two Pinot Noir clones. To capture the elegance of the fruit, and avoid excessive extraction, the wine spent just 10 days on the skins, with a combination of short pump-overs and punch-downs twice per day. Malolactic fermentation occurred spontaneously in 300-litre French oak barrels, 30% of which were new. The oak barrels were carefully selected from five leading Burgundian coopers, with a range of toasting levels – mostly Light and Blonde – adding further complexity to the wine.

Set in a striking amphitheatre formed by the Hottentots-Holland, Groenland and Kogelberg Mountains, the Moya Meaker vineyard – Dijon 667 and 777 heritage clones, planted at a higher density to encourage competition between the vines – is situated on an impressive ridge of ancient Bokkeveld shales. Combined with the cool ocean winds sweeping in off the nearby Atlantic Ocean, this high-altitude location leads to a large diurnal shift between daytime and night-time temperatures. The result? Pinot Noir with bright acidity and higher concentration. The wine is named in honour of former beauty queen Moya Meaker – the mother of David’s South African-born wife, Genevieve Curl – and the Moya Meaker Pinot Noir shows precisely why Elgin’s terroir is ideally suited to this iconic Burgundian grape.