variety : Pinotage [ 100% Pinotage ]
winemaker : Anthony de Jager
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 14.47 % vol rs : 3.0 g/l pH : 3.52 ta : 5.6 g/l
type : Red style : Dry wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Fairview cellar - with its spectacular view of Table Mountain - lies on the south west slopes of Paarl at the Cape of Good Hope. Established more than 300 years ago, Fairview has been in my family for three generations. Our committed team carefully guide the wine from the vine to the bottle, capturing yet another perfect Cape summer.
Winemaker's Notes:
Pinotage was primarily harvested from bush vines in Malmesbury and Agter-Paarl, some of which are over 25 years old. These vineyards are dry farmed and the vines grow on deep soils. This is supplemented by fruit from a younger trellised vineyard at Fairview, which grows on more sandy soils. After a fantastic ripening period leading up to the 2007 harvest, we had a week of very high temperatures, which brought the harvest forward by a few days, especially at the Paarl vineyard. This has led to the wine having bold fruit flavours, due to some of the grapes being harvested riper.
in the cellar : After harvesting the bunches were destalked, and lightly pumped through the crusher with the rollers full open. After yeast and malolactic fermentation was completed in stainless tanks, the wine spent ten months in used French and American oak barrels, before blending and bottling. This imparts a subtle oak character, with the fruit flavours being accentuated.