Freedom Pinot Noir

Ideal with duck and other game birds, casseroles or, of course, stews like beef bourguignon.

The Elgin valley is situated 75km east of Cape Town, surrounded by mountains, in proximity to the ocean, and nestled at 400m above sea level, and 150-200m higher than Stellenbosch. Perhaps SA’s coolest wine district, there is a greater degree of cloud cover and rainfall allowing for gradual, even ripening of developing bunches. Veraison occurs later, and once the hottest summer spells are past. Geology is rich, comprising of Table Mountain Sandstone and Cartrefsoil types. The single vineyard that produces this Pinot Noir is planted to the Dijon clones 115 and 777.

The maturation of the wine, on the lees, lasted for almost 10 months before we assembled the barrels and then bottled without fining or filtration.

Following a pre-selection process in the vineyards, the grapes are picked by hand at dawn into 15kg lug-boxes. Hand sorting is employed to ensure only the best grapes are used. In 2020, whole berry fermentation took place in 600L oak barrels. The pomace and skins were then pressed by hand in a small basket press and the press juice matured separately.

Founded in 1998 by Alex Dale, Radford Dale set about the Cape in search of exciting vineyard parcels for their chosen specialist varietals. Today, they have two producing wineries. The first is located in Stellenbosch, predominantly focused on sourcing maritime influenced parcels around the Helderberg and Polkadraai. Here, they produce the cult, single vineyard wines of Renaissance Chenin Blanc and Frankenstein Pinotage, and the Radford Dale Vinum range; a set of six wines that consistently overdeliver on style to price. The 2022 vintage marked the maiden release from their own vineyards purchased in Elgin under Radford Dale Organic, with the release of four single varietal Estate wines, the only organic certified vineyards in the region. More recently, they have co-founded South Africa’s first Organic Wine Association. They continue to reintroduce Gamay Noir to the Cape, establishing the first new plantings for some 20 years. It’s a varietal geared up to thrive in warm conditions, and on granite soils. Stylistically, Gamay also embodies Radford Dale’s championing of elegant, refreshing red wines.