Vinum Gamay Noir

French charcuterie such as patés, terrines, rillettes and saucisson sec and with white-rinded cheeses such as Brie and Camembert.

The fruit for this Gamay comes from two vineyards, both south-east facing & on the Polkadraai hills of coastal Stellenbosch. The young parcel of just 0.5ha is our maiden pick. The second parcel was planted in 1999.

Maturation over 10 months.

The grapes were harvest early morning & manually sorted for the best bunches at the cellar. These are de-stemmed but not crushed, with the berries transferred to a 7000l oak fermenter for carbonic maceration. This technique lifts the fruit intensity whilst remaining fresh & spritely. A gentle, light extraction follows.After the whole berry ferment is finished, the pomace is was basket pressed, with the wine transferred to 300l French oak barrels, none new.

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.