Vinum Grenache

Rack of lamb and pork belly.

A single, ocean facing vineyard on the Helderberg. Planted to bush vine, thesevines grow on rocky koffieklip, with decomposed granite and a deep subsoil ofclay. The site benefits from the maritime breeze. With plentiful rain in thewinter of 2020, higher moisture in the soils led to strong and even budding inSpring. A long, slow harvest relative, so we had extra hang time for greaterphenolic ripeness.

The berries were basket pressed and matured for 11 months in older Frenchoak barrels.

The grapes are harvested by hand at dawn to capture freshness. The buncheswere hand sorted, with the ferment a combination of whole berry carbonicmaceration & partial crushing in 7000l open top wooden fermenters. Weemployed a light extraction, with the focus on creating a lithe, supple texture.

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.