Old Bush Vine Cinsault

Please note: Award stickers are applied at the producer's discretion and may not be present on all bottles.

Ripening is often much slower with older vineyards and sugar levels barely reach 24 Balling but with optimally ripe fruit. 33% of the wine is whole bunch fermented and basket pressed. 67% of grapes are harvested between 23 and 24 Balling and allowed cold maceration for at least 2 days. Active skin fermentation through a combination of Rhone and Bordeaux yeast is done in open concrete tanks with regular punch downs of the cap. The wine is kept 7-10 days on the skin and finishes malolactic fermentation in stainless steel.

The grapes used for this wine are harvested from a block of old bush vine Cinsaut planted to decomposed granite in 1972 on our Bottelary property. It is unirrigated and like a camel – it can go through a whole summer without water.

It is then matured for 16 months in 10% new and the rest second and third fill French oak barrels.