The inspiration for this Deconstructed Pinot Noir stems from my belief that the Elgin region boasts credentials that make it world-class. My mandate has been to prove that Elgin has a signature grape synonymous with the area and exhibits specific ‘terroirs’ (mesoclimates) within its demarcated boundary, reflecting regional distinctions. To fully comprehend this, it is necessary to dig deeper into the DNA that makes up our region. As such, I split Elgin into seven different sub-regions or zones whereby each zone identifies with a particular topographical or climatic nuance. Within these zones, I then selected specific vineyards and further an individual clone. This wine is from the South Western part of Elgin, in the Kogelberg biosphere. The Sandstone soils lend lightness, elegance and lift in the mid-palate, very subtle. PN115 tends to be more broad and structured but on these soils still has a lovely lift.

WINEMAKING: The grapes were handpicked and manually sorted on a conveyor before the stems were removed. The destemmed berries were dropped uncrushed into small 500kg open-topped fermenters. The grapes underwent a 3-day maceration before spontaneous fermentation began. A gentle delestage program was charted, and the grapes remained on skins for up to 15 days. The wine was then racked to barrel under gravity and the remaining pomace basket pressed. Malolactic proceeded in barrel followed by a light sulphuring after which the wine was racked off malolactic lees and returned to clean barrels for an 11-month maturation. No fining is usually necessary, and the wine was racked and lightly filtered before bottling.

BARREL SELECTION: Only Burgundy and only French oak was chosen. Importantly, this wine was micro-vinified as a separate batch. Only French oak wood was selected and 228 litres a pièce used. For the Deconstructed Pinot we used around 50% new oak with the remainder split equally into a 2nd fill a pièce