Carménère

Red Meat

Nestled among a handful of isolated, rare-variety parcels - including some of South Africa s only Bastardo - this small Carménère vineyard overlooks Stellenbosch and the rolling hills toward Cape Town. The block is meticulously tended and deliberately protected from the leafroll pressure found in neighbouring vineyards. Planted on the slopes of Stellenbosch Mountain, the low-yielding vines root deeply into decomposed red-brown granitic soils. Elevation, drainage and careful canopy work allow the fruit to retain freshness while reaching the phenolic maturity this naturally late-ripening cultivar requires. The 2025 season followed a warm, dry and windy post-harvest period, then a late-arriving winter crowned by record rainfall in July. The replenished soils and dams, cooler August and moderate September delayed bud burst, while favourable flowering conditions and useful spring follow-up rains supported balanced, healthy canopies. Stellenbosch experienced two short heat peaks around Christmas, but January was notably cooler than average and the harvest itself remained dry. This slowed the early season, preserved acidity and allowed the later-ripening red varieties sufficient hang time to develop flavour, colour and tannin without losing freshness. Carménère, naturally low yielding and phenolically expressive before extreme sugar ripeness, was particularly well suited to these conditions.

After fermentation, the wine was pressed promptly and transferred to a small barrel for maturation. It was followed closely throughout elevage, with the aim of preserving the unusually pure 2025 fruit and fine-grained tannin profile. Bottled in July 2 26.

The grapes were hand-picked in the cool of the early morning once flavour, seed and skin maturity were aligned. Approximately 2 whole bunches 20% were included. Fermentation began naturally and proceeded quickly, with regular punch-downs over roughly two weeks to build colour and structure without extracting hardness.

Pilgrim Wines is a unique wine company, dedicated to inspire, teach and surprise. We are a small family-owned business with a passion for wine making. Well-known Winemaker Henry Kotzé (former Morgenster and now at the iconic Mulderbosch) carefully crafts the wines for owner and Viticulturist wife Riëtte Kotzé’s Pilgrim Wines brand. We do not have our own vineyards, at the moment we source our grapes from small pockets of vineyards that we have come across in our everyday paths. These distinct parcels of land, happen to be in our home-grown Stellenbosch area and the amazing Voor Paardeberg regions. We partner with like minded ethical growers and believe in leaving nothing but footprints for the next generation. We focus on innovative methods with tried and tested cultivars, as well as experimental styles with unorthodox, unfamiliar cultivars. We like to discover the new and untried pathways in the journey of grape to bottle.