Village Pinot Noir

For the Village Pinot Noir, we select the vineyards which have not yet reach full maturity, young vineyards tend to show more varietal character which is what we want to express in this wine. Clones 115, 113, 777 and PN5 are used. Extensive individual berry sorting was done by hand prior to destemming without crushing. The whole berries were transferred without pumping to the fermentation tanks, which was followed by cold maceration at 14°-16° Celsius for 6 days. After cold maceration, the fermentation started spontaneously with some bathes inoculated with selected strains of Burgundian yeast to ensure complete fermentation. The skin cap was punched through by hand at least 2 times per day during fermentation. After the completion of the fermentation and pressing the wine was transferred to older French oak barrels and 5000 litre wooden vats for malolactic fermentation and maturation.

Currently there are 21.96 hectares planted to Pinot Noir on the estate, clones include 667, 777, 113, 115 and PN5. The oldest vines were planted in 1990 and the youngest blocks in 2021; the vines range in age from 2 to 32 years. The soil is predominantly decomposed Bokkeveld Shale with underlying clay layers of varying depths. Vine orientation is North/South on Northeast and South facing slopes and Northwest/Southeast on the South facing slopes. Height above sea level ranges from 280 to 400 meters.

The wine is matured in French oak for 12 months to add complexity and silkiness.