Remhoogte Vantage Pinotage 2021

The grapes are hand harvested and then sorted on a conveyor belt in the cellar. The majority of the wine is fermented uninoculated in 7000 litre French oak tanks. 30% of the stems are added back to the tanks. This portion spent 14 days on the skins before being drained. A small component (15% in the final wine) was fermented using carbonic maceration which brings freshness and lifts the fruit on the final wine. Maturation takes place in 225 litre French oak barriques for 18 months. 30% new oak is used with the remainder made up of second and third fill barriques. The wine is then racked to a large concrete tank where it is allowed to mellow for 6 months before being bottled. Unfined and unfiltered.

The vineyard is a 2 hectare block of bush vines on a granitic ridge high up on the estate. It faces completely south and is therefore exposed to the prevailing summer breezes off the ocean to the south and sheltered from the heat of the afternoon sun. This allows for extended hang time of the fruit without it becoming overripe. The vines are 20 years old and yielded 5 tons per hectare for this vintage. A green harvest at 80% veraison limits the variation in ripeness in the bunches and ensures more even ripeness at harvest.

4.5 stars Platter’s Wine Guide
93 Points Tim Atkin South Africa Report
91 Points Wine Spectator