Granum

Beef, Lamb, Game (deer, venison)

These vineyards lie at the very bottom of the farm in the densest deposits of granite rock and claystone, at an altitude of 220m 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 valley. The annual rainfall is 910mm, with 50% falling in the winter months (May – August). A proper Cape winter preceded the growing season with substantial rains starting in June, occurring regularly to the end of August. The vines budded early in middle August for the second year in a row, followed by steadily increasing temperature and high humidity in September. The conditions initiated some early infections of oidium and downy mildew in places, which remained a continual threat throughout the growing season. The real heat hit just before the new year and continued unabated until the first week of March, resulting in one of the warmest years on record. Unlike other parts of the Western Cape, water stress was not a major factor. The Syrah vineyards were harvested on 24 February 2016 and the Mourvèdre on the 10th of March 2016.

Matured for 12 months in 500L 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 18%. The wine is racked to stainless steel tanks for another 10 months of élevage. No fining and filtration 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. All parcels are fermented with a discretionary percentage of whole bunches together with their stems. Cold maceration ensues for 4 to 6 days at 8 to 10°C. All parcels are fermented with indigenous yeasts, and only pigeage (punching down) applied for extraction. The wine spends approximately 25 days on the skins before pressing. After pressing the wine is racked and left to complete its malolactic fermentation and maturation in oak barrels.

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.