2019 Vintage
THE GOOD GUYS MUSE
We believe Pinotage is a fantastic yet misunderstood varietal which benefits from a gentle touch, in order to uncover its true potential and unique qualities. A signature South African varietal, it was cultivated there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut (Cinsaut was known as "Hermitage" in South Africa at that time, hence the name).
ACCOLADES
Tim Aktin: 91 points
Platter’s Guide: 4/5 stars
TASTING NOTES
This vintage of Radford Dale Vinum Pinotage expresses the real nature of what this grape has to offer – refreshing, juicy black fruits with poise and elegance and ripe tannins.
This vineyard is located in the northern part of the Stellenbosch region and is 23 years old. As is typical in our region, the alluvial soil in this vineyard contains a high proportion of decomposing granite which comes from the magnificent mountains which surround us. It was wonderful to see the vitality that returned to our vineyards after the relatively good rains preceding the 2019 harvest and rain fall figures came close to the long term average for Stellenbosch. As usual, the grapes were harvested by hand early in the morning into 20kg lug boxes then transported to our cellar.
At the cellar, the grapes were manually sorted to ensure only the best bunches were used. Our primary objective with this wine was to use wild fermentation led by carbonic maceration to reveal the hidden side of Pinotage. This whole berry, natural fermentation took place in open, 600L wooden fermenters for a very soft extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. Once the alcoholic fermentation had finished, we transferred the pomace to our press where the wine was gently removed from the skins and then moved into small, Burgundian barrels (228Land300L), an equal mix of 2nd, 3rd & 4th fill for malolactic fermentation and maturation. No new oak was used as we wanted the wine to exhibit its freshness while adding texture and complexity.
BLEND
100% Pinotage