21 Gables Pinotage

Beautifully balanced and intensely complex, this Pinotage has concentrated flavours of dark fruit, spice and chocolate. 20 months of oak maturation took place for 20 months in oak has resulted in firm but velvety tannins. Enjoy it at any point over the next decade; it is only going to get even better over time.

SERVE WITH: Serve with mature beef, venison, lamb and ostrich dishes with berry jus or strong cheese.

"Big, bold, dense and concentrated, especially for a Pinotage, this sees a combination of first and second fill French, American and Hungarian oak and is pretty smoky and toasty at the moment. Give it time, though, because there's also plenty of dark berry and bramble fruit and tannic backbone. 2021-26" - Tim Atkin, MW

WINEMAKER: Johan Jordaan

ORIGIN: Stellenbosch

TERROIR / SOIL:
Soil: Decomposed granite
Temperature: winter 10° – 17°C; summer 14° – 28°C
Annual rainfall: ±450mm
Proximity to ocean: 7km

VINEYARD AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS:
Dryland vineyards overlooking False Bay on the southern side of Stellenbosch yielded the fruit for this unique wine. The decomposed granite soils assist with water retention as it contains a high proportion of clay.

WINEMAKING:
Grapes were harvested by hand (to minimise damage to the berries) and chilled before bunch sorting. After de-stemming, the berries were hand-sorted to remove raisins, pink berries and large berries. Partial natural fermentation took place in stainless steel; the balance was inoculated with a particular yeast strain. Free-run wine was drained to a combination of first and second fill French, American and Hungarian oak barrels where it matured for 18 months. Barrel selections were conducted to ensure a balanced, cool-climate Pinotage with great complexity and ageing potential.

ANALYSIS:

Alc	14.61 % vol	TA	5.7 g/L
RS	3.5 g/L	pH	3.53

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