TERROIR SELECTION
TERROIR SELECTION
RENAISSANCE CHENIN BLANC
Stellenbosch
Often shunned and disrespected by winemakers and consumers alike, there is, in certain worthy quarters, an ascending realisation of the tremendous potential of this grape, Chenin Blanc – South Africa’s most noble grape. As devotees of true character and finesse often swim upstream against the populous tide, a fresh generation of Chenin producers is bringing to the surface some of the most interesting, bright, mineral and idiosyncratic wines of the Cape.
Details
Vintage 2018
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 12.5% vol.
Total acidity 5.8g/l
pH 3.34
Residual sugar 3.2g/l
Full product sheet 2018
Full product sheet 2017
Full product sheet 2016
REVELATION CHENIN BLANC
Walker Bay
By understanding this vineyard, rather than manipulating the wine, we have been able to create a wine that reflects its site through freshness, elegance, crispness and purity. The Revelation Chenin Blanc is all about clarity and finesse. It is driven by its citrus fruit spectrum and has a wonderful refreshing acidity. The perfect wine for Summer.
Details
Vintage 2019
Walker Bay, South Africa
Alcohol 12% vol.
Total acidity 5.4g/l
pH 3.45
Residual sugar 2.5g/l
Full product sheet 2019
Full product sheet 2018
CHARDONNAY
Stellenbosch
With strong influence of Alex Dale’s upbringing in Burgundy, the making of this Chardonnay is also adapted to our particular conditions in this ocean-facing part of the Cape – our mineral geology and temperate maritime climate both lending much to the equation.
Details
Vintage 2019
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 13%vol
Total acidity 7.2g/L
pH 3.14
Residual Sugar 2.2g/L
Full product sheet 2019
Full product sheet 2018
Full product sheet 2017
GRAVITY
Stellenbosch
Instead of producing the super ripe and overblown wines that seem to dominate the premium red blend category, our aim with Gravity has always been to craft a complex and seamless blend, of uncommon character, reflecting the fine balance between fruit ripeness and earthy vinosity that we can achieve in this wondrous mountain vineyard. After fermentation the wine is left on skins for about ten days, which gives it more time to complete its leisurely extraction. The free-run juice is then drawn off and the pomace and skins are left over-night to drip-drain into “Demi-Muids”. These are not mechanical pressings but natural, gravitational pressings, which give rise not only to the name of this wine but to far more integrated and supple tannins in the final wine.
Details
Vintage 2013
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 14.5%vol
Total acidity 6.3g/l
pH 3.6
Residual sugar 1.7g/l
Full product sheet 2013
Full product sheet 2011
Full product sheet 2010
THE ANTIDOTE GAMAY NOIR
Stellenbosch
To Parker-driven wine styles: high alcohols, big tannins, lots of oak, your car breaking down, a bad interview, a shit day at work, the dark powers against you… – everything we playfully call poison, here we introduce The Antidote as our remedy.
Details
Vintage 2019
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 12.5%vol
Total acidity 5.5g/L
pH 3.53
Residual Sugar 1.4g/L
Full product sheet 2019
Full product sheet 2018
Full product sheet 2017
FRANKENSTEIN PINOTAGE
Stellenbosch
Dr. Abraham Perold was the South African viticulturist and scientist who in 1925 at Stellenbosch University, germinated the Pinotage varietal by intermingling two species of grapes which, arguably, should never have been given life together : Pinot Noir & Cinsault. A century earlier, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, from Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, created an equally strange creature, also by stitching together different body parts from mismatched ‘donors’. The Radford Dale Frankenstein Pinotage is our nod to the work carried-out in his laboratory by South Africa’s first professor of viticulture, Abraham Perold, and a wink to the creature he created.
Details
Vintage 2016
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 12.5%vol
Total acidity 6.0g/l
pH 3.57
Residual sugar 2.5 g/l
Full product sheet 2016
Full product sheet 2015
Full product sheet 2014
SYRAH
Stellenbosch
Over the space of many vintages in The Cape, Syrah has proven itself well suited to the soils and the climate of our beloved Helderberg. With our vines maturing nicely we are seeing wines of elegance, depth and restraint, while also allowing the unique aspects of the terroir to shine.
Details
Vintage 2017
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 13.5%vol
Total acidity 6.0g/l
pH 3.52
Residual sugar 1.3g/l
Full product sheet 2017
Full product sheet 2015
Full product sheet 2014
FREEDOM PINOT NOIR
Elgin
South Africa is free from the strict regulation found in EU and specifically Burgundy, which dictates such aspects as methods of planting, pruning & trellising, levels of yields, residual sugar, acidity, alcohol etc. decreeing even which bottle shape is legal or illegal, and even the fundamental right to plant vines at all. Alex Dale came to South Africa from Burgundy in 1994, weeks after Nelson Mandela was democratically elected President and experienced for the very first time, the total freedom to act as his heart and mind felt would allow the greatest individualism, in this magnificent and untampered-with vinescape. Freedom to challenge ourselves against nature rather than regulation and Freedom to be wrong or right, rather than, absurdly, a regulatory outlaw! In the spirit of an exciting, newly-democratic South Africa, this burst of liberty sewed the seed for the creation of Radford Dale’s passionately crafted Freedom Pinot Noir. And as luck would have it, Nelson Mandela had just completed his long walk to freedom and become President that year too…
Details
Vintage 2019
Elgin, South Africa
Alcohol 12%vol
Total acidity 5.6g/l
pH 3.46
Residual sugar 1.6g/l
Full product sheet 2019
Full product sheet 2018
Full product sheet 2017
Full product sheet 2016
NUDITY SYRAH
Voor Paardeberg
A first for Radford Dale, this “Zero Sulphite” Syrah represents the culmination of everything we have learnt over many years about natural viticulture and non-interventionist winemaking. By leaving every process in the capable hands of Mother Nature, we produce a wine which reflects every aspect of its origin, the variety and the vintage, in as clear a manner as is possible. Free of any additions or treatments, it is undressed and totally natural. The result is a wonderfully expressive, complex and elegant wine. The nose beams dark red fruits, complex spice and fynbos aromas. Layers of red and black fruit, over a strong graphite note and super supple tannins make for a fantastically engaging palate. The wine leaves one with a clean, fresh and wholesome impression. Could this be the naked truth…?
Details
Vintage 2018
Voor Paardeberg, South Africa
Alcohol 13%vol
Total acidity 5.5g/l
pH 3.54
Residual sugar 2g/l
Free Sulphur 4mg/l
Total Sulphur 6mg/l
Full product sheet 2018
Full product sheet 2017
Full product sheet 2016
BLACK ROCK
Swartland
We have been working with these old bush vine vineyards in Swartland since 2003. The Swartland bears its name from Jan Van Riebeek who called this area of undulating landscape between the mountain ranges "Het Zwarte Land" (the Black Land) because of the local Renosterbos plant found there. When the rain falls, the land appears to be black from a distance.
Details
Vintage 2019
Swartland, South Africa
Alcohol 14%vol
Total acidity 6.0 g/l
pH 3.63
Residual sugar 1.7g/l
Full product sheet 2019
Full product sheet 2018
Full product sheet 2017
Full product sheet 2016
Full product sheet 2015
CINSAULT
Stellenbosch
The Cinsault vines were planted in 1989 and are grown on sandy soils lining the banks of the Moddergat River. They are bush vines and keep fruit within the canopy, away from direct sunlight. There is no irrigation in this vineyard, so it produces a small crop but one with lovely concentration. We harvested early during ripening to retain maximum freshness.
Details
Vintage 2019
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 12.5%vol
Total acidity 4.7g/l
pH 3.52
Residual sugar 1.6g/l
Full product sheet 2019
GRENACHE
Stellenbosch
The fruit for this wine comes from a single vineyard on the farm where our winery is based in Helderberg overlooking the ocean. The vines grow in decomposed granite soil and benefit greatly from the South Easter sea breeze in summertime, cooling the entire vineyard.
Details
Vintage 2019
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Alcohol 13.5%vol
Total acidity 4.5g/l
pH 3.61
Residual sugar 2.1g/l
Full product sheet 2019