Vinum Pinotage (Coastal)
Radford Dale
2021 | Coastal Region
Pinotage is a relative newcomer to Radford Dale (our first release of this undervalued grape, Frankenstein, came in 2011), yet the varietal has become an important part of what we do. Quite simply, we’re looking for purity of fruit and a freshness in our expressions.
Deep purple and with ruby rim. Ripe strawberries and plums with interestingly perfumed rosewater aromas indicate varietal expression. Wild berry compote and dark forest fruits delight on the medium palate, before grippy tannins bring the wine to a clean, fresh finish.
We've received some wonderful reviews already (from the likes of Julia Harding MW, Jamie Goode and Christian Eedes) for the new Vinum range - see here.
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In the Vineyard
The grapes for this wine is predominantly from a vineyard located in the northern part of the Stellenbosch region and is 24 years old. As is typical in our region, the alluvial soil in this vineyard contains a high proportion of decomposing granite which comes from the magnificent mountains which surround us. Harvest was 10 days later and the crop smaller than 2020, but with better acidity. As usual, the grapes were harvested by hand early in the morning into 15kg lug boxes then transported to our cellar.
In the Cellar
At the cellar, the grapes were manually sorted to ensure only the best bunches were used. Our primary objective with this wine was to use wild fermentation led by carbonic maceration to reveal the hidden side of Pinotage. This whole berry, natural fermentation took place in open, 600L wooden fermenters for a very soft extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. Once the alcoholic fermentation had finished, we transferred the pomace to our press where the wine was gently removed from the skins and then moved into small, Burgundian barrels (228L and 300L), an equal mix of 2nd, 3rd & 4th fill for malolactic fermentation and maturation. No new oak was used as we wanted the wine to exhibit its freshness while adding texture and complexity.
VEGAN FRIENDLY
Technical Bits
VARIETAL: Pinotage
APPELLATION: Coastal Region
Alcohol 11.5%vol
Total Acidity 5 g/l
pH 3.69
Residual Sugar 1.2g/l
wine factsheets
Wine Reviews & Ratings
Download all Radford Dale Press Reviews & Ratings HERE
Delivery Info
Delivery to your door (anywhere in SA) is free if you spend R2000 or more. Otherwise we charge a flat rate of R175 per order.
We'll endeavour to dispatch your order within 2 working days of receipt of payment. See full delivery T&Cs here