Bellevue 1952 Cinsault 2021

This wine displays a balanced poise and elegant character with a perfumy and fruit-driven character. On both the nose and palate, this wine offers notes of raspberry, strawberry, maraschino cherry, plum, and pomegranate, wrapped in a silky mouthfeel of friendly tannins. The finish is long, classy, and elegant.

Planted in 1952, the Cinsault block is the oldest vineyard on Bellevue. The vines are cultivated as bush vines and grown without irrigation, as is typically done with Cinsault. However, the challenge lies in managing this block during the wet winter season, as the sandy loam soil tends to become very wet during the proper Western Cape winters. These old vines have a very low yield, which contributes to the high quality of the grapes they produ

Sandy loam soil

The hand-harvested grapes underwent a cold soak for three days, followed by inoculation for alcoholic fermentation. Throughout this process, three daily pump overs were performed. Once fermentation was complete, the skins were pressed, and the wine was racked off the fermentation lees. It was then transferred into 300 litre French oak barrels, where it underwent spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged for 12 months in a combination of new, 2nd, and 4th fill French oak barrels.