Family Vineyards Pinot Noir

A great match with salmon or other fatty fish, roasted chicken or pasta dishes.

These vineyards lie in the most favourable soil structures of porphyritic Granite on the mid slope, ranging from 220 to 290m in altitude, in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. This appellation ranges from 4 to 8 km in proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is cool and temperate, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly oceangoing winds through the appellation during the summer. These southerly winds in turn create regular sea mists and overcast conditions, moderating the temperatures in the valle y. The annual rainfall is 850mm, with 50% falling in the winter months (May – August). A cool, long-ripening and healthy vintage. The preceding winter was late to start and crept in to September, delivering good rains and the best cold units for the last 5 years. The budburst throughout the cold conditions of September was gradual, delaying the grow th to late in the season. Some late, cold front systems lashing the coast caused some wind damage and crop loss during flowering in early November, setting the tone for one of the coldest spring seasons in 10 years. The generous Spring rains contrasted wit h one of the driest, though coolest, summers on record. Only 12 hours of temperature over 30°C was recorded for the whole summer, culminating in an average ripening period of 105 days from flowering to harvest for both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Most of these vineyards were harvested in March, indicating a distinctly late season.

Matured for 11 months in barrique (228L) barrels produced in Burgundy and custom made for the various vineyards. Tighter grained oak is preferred for subtle flavour, with longer seasoning and slower, lower temperature toasting. New oak comprises 28%. The wine is racked to stainless steel tanks for another 5 months of élevage. No fining or filtration, and a sulphur adjustment before bottling.

The grapes are packed in to large -surface area crates to limit pressure on the bunches. The day’s harvest is cooled down overnight to 8ºC in the winery’s refrigerated cold room. The bunches are sorted on a conveyor, destemmed, and fall directly to the fermenter (with no crushing). No sulphur is used in the winemaking, allowing diverse micro -organisms from the grape itself to flourish unrestrained in the spontaneous fermentation. These vineyard parcels also contain a discretionary percentage of whole bunches, which vary substantially between each site. Cold maceration ensues for 6 to 7 days at 8 to 10°C. All parcels are fermented by spontaneous yeasts, and only pigea ge (punching down) applied for extraction. The wine spends approximately 25 days on the skins before pressing. After pressing, it is racked and left to complete its malolactic fermentation and maturation in barrel on its lees.

Newton Johnson Vineyards is owned and managed by the Newton Johnson family. The farm is based in the upper Hemel en Aarde Valley near the seaside town of Hermanus an hour and a half’s drive out of Cape Town. This is a popular tourist destination famous for some of the most spectacular land-based whale watching in the world lush indigenous fynbos a floral kingdom home to 1500 species and exclusive to the Cape mountain walks and bike trails. Led by Dave a Cape Wine Master with a thesis on Pinot Noir and his wife Felicity (nee Newton) the Newton Johnson family moved to the Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley in 1995 built a cellar and started planting vines shortly thereafter. This enthusiasm for wine and Pinot noir in particular was passed on to and eagerly adopted by his sons Bevan and Gordon. They in turn have taken this family cellar and vineyards to new heights in exploring the nuances of this grape and their vineyards.