Let's talk little, let's talk wine
Brothers Andrew and Peter-Allan are the third generation of winemakers in the Finlayson family and this Agnes vintage is named after their great-grandmother , Agnes Floyd, who arrived in South Africa at the age of 14. The grapes come from five vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde and Overberg regions. They apply natural fermentation in 228 and 500 liter oak barrels (10% of which are new) where the wine will remain for 9 months before being bottled. No sulfur or chemical input is added before fermentation. This wine carries a strong expression of the exceptional fruits coming from the different plots. The palate develops a beautiful concentration combining aromas of lime , candied lemon, pineapple , white peach , caramelized apples as well as caramel and butter . The rich and enveloping palate leads to a persistent finish , balanced by an acidic and crunchy structure. A delight !
Where are we traveling?
The little history of the country
South Africa
The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.