Old Vine WERFDANS Cinsault 2017

The aromatics are positively brimming with marzipan, Turkish delight, dried coriander seeds, violets and rose petal perfume with a subtle kiss of lychee exoticism. On the palate the quality shift is witnessed in full focus with a beguiling combination of sweet seductive red berry fruits, harmoniously textured concentration and a long, full, persistent finish that simply crashes the senses mainframe and announces something very very special indeed.

The 2017 harvest was slightly larger than 2016, following a dry season. The growing season, post-harvest, was very hot and dry and winter arrived late in most regions. Spring arrived on time. Cooler nights throughout the growing season and absence of significant heatwaves during harvest time buffered the effect of the drought. Higher rainfall brought some relief in certain regions although it still was very much below average. The dry conditions did contribute to very healthy vineyards and smaller berries with good colour and flavor concentration. Harvest season kicked of somewhat later due to cool night temperatures however ripening accelerated by mid-February and harvest ended earlier than usual.

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Hand-picked in small crates.

Picked in small crates and left overnight in cold room to bring temperature down to roughly 10 degrees Celsius • The challenge is to interpret the current vintage conditions in order to balance whole bunch, destemming of grapes and adding stalks (tannins). • A combination of whole bunch, destemmed grapes and stalks go into a stainless steel tank and left until natural fermentation starts • One to two soft pump overs per day and left for roughly 2 weeks, pressed and wine transferred into older 225L French oak barrels (minimum oxidation during the process) • Barrel aging commences for 12 – 15 months