LONGRIDGE PINOTAGE 2007

Stellenbosch

Annual Rainfall: 570mm
Proximity to ocean: 5km, 10km and 12km

Decomposed shales, Tukulu and Clovelly

The grapes were harvested form three sites (the Helderberg, Devon Valley and Somerset-West) within the Stellenbosch area. The vines’ age ranges from 11 years to 18 years old and gave us a yield of between 6 and 8 tons per hectare. They are all trellised in the vertical shoot position and have drip irrigation installed (one irrigation to the equivalent of 10mm rainfall was carried out on the vineyards).

Clinton Le Sueur

The grapes received at the cellar were of top quality and minimum sorting was necessary. The grapes were left to cold soak for 48 hours before being inoculated with specialized yeast so as to complete the fermentation. Fermentation was carried out at 24°C until dryness (5 days), after which they were pressed into stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation. The wine then spent 14 months maturing in 70% new French oak barriques before being lightly fined before bottling.

Alc: 15.07%
TA: 5.4 g/l
RS: 3.1 g/l
pH: 3.78

Like a rich Christmas with lots of presents under the tree, this wine is layered with a wonderful array of flavours (from plum, 70% green and black dark chocolate, red pepper corns and black cherries) combined and balanced with fullness of structure and a delicious lingering coffee finish.

Drink from 3 years after harvest and we expect it to gain in complexity until 2014.

Nutella bread and butter pudding, coq au vin, Warthog fillet, peppered springbok pie, roasted quail on a bed of boletus edulis.