Skaamgesiggie

Specially selected Pinot Noir grapes were harvested in 18.5°B. The grapes were cooled to 2°C and then loaded whole bunch into the press for 5 hours skin contact. Only the first 550L of juice per ton obtained from gentle pressing was used. The clear juice was cold fermented with selected yeast strains. After fermentation the base wine was matured in 500L French oak barrels for 7 months. The base wine was then reinnoculated with yeast and a small amount of sugar (liquer de tirage) and bottled under crown cap for a second fermentation (prise de mousse)

Winter of 2017 was one of the driest in the Western Cape in the last century, fortunately our winter rains were within average range. We received very late cold fronts with icy rain in mid-September. This storm did extreme damage to our young shoots, so while we received water for irrigation the price paid was the loss of half of our potential crop almost overnight. In late November we had a further blow with a hail storm which caused more vineyard damage and the final harvest crop was on average a very low 3,5 ton/ha. The conditions during the rest of the growing season were moderate with cool, dry weather and small crop was handled with care to make the most of it. The result was a small, concentrated vintage, comparable to 2015.

Bottling (tirage) for second fermentation on 3 August 2018. Disgorged 16 August 2019.