Pinot Noir 1.5L

Grilled Norwegian salmon with a soy ginger sauce, mushroom risotto, guinea fowl pie.

2020 Harvest season had its own challenges with a fair amount of rain before the grapes started to ripen. This did not have a negative effect as the wines received natural irrigation which helped decrease the effect of water stress levels on the vines allowing them to function better and allow optimal functionality for the ripening period. The post-harvest period in 2019 was cool, which contributed towards leaf fall occurring later and good accumulation of reserves for vines to mature grapes. Spring was characterized by higher than normal maximum and minimum temperatures which resulted in even bud burst and initial growth. The warmer, drier weather conditions that followed increased the soil temperatures as well as the root activity significantly. Overall conditions during the flowering and berry set period were much better than 2019 season's extreme temperature fluctuation. 2020 was an excellent vintage delivering healthy grapes.

9.5 months - 100% 228L French Oak Barrels 1st fill: 35% 2nd fill: 29% 3rd fill: 29% 4th fill: 7%.

Tesselaarsdal was founded in 2015 by long-standing Hamilton Russell Vineyards employee Berene Sauls. This wine is named after the historic Overberg farming hamlet of Tesselaarsdal not far from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge wine appellation in which Berene was born – a descendant of the freed slaves who were bequeathed the land by former East India Company settler Johannes Tesselaar in 1810. Extreme care is taken to ensure this small-production classically styled Pinot noir expresses the personality of the cool maritime Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge from un-irrigated vines and its elevated stony clay and iron-rich soils.