Vrede Pinot Noir 2018

After being responsible for winemaking at the famous Hamilton-Russell for 12 years, Hannes Storm decided to start making his own wines. In 2008, he started planting his own vines in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley and now has 4 different plots in total. He uses a gentle and less interventionist approach to create fine and elegant wines.

The Vrede Pinot Noir cuvée comes from a steep slope facing northeast in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley with a soil of Bokkeveld schist that is not very vigorous, stony and rich in clay. The history of the estate is relatively recent, since it was only in 2008 that the winemaker Hannes Storm discovered 2 small plots with an exceptional terroir, and decided to plant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay there. The harvest is manual . He carries out destemming then 10 days of cold maceration in open vats. The fermentation takes place under the action of indigenous yeasts then the wine will be aged for 11 months in French oak barrels, 28% of which are new wood. No filtration or fining, reasoned sulphites. This wine reveals aromas of cherry , wild strawberries , violet petals , raspberries , cranberries , mushrooms , forest scents , red spices , cloves and cocoa . The palate reveals the soul of Pinot Noir in an elegant and subtle way. The tannins are fine and the acidity generates a tension that balances the fruity dimension of the wine. The finish is long and harmonious.

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.