Verdun Pinotage 1999

Bright ruby red in colour with a crimson rim. The full fruity upfront nose of fresh raspberry and black currants with a hint of spicy banana carries well onto the palate. Subtle undertones of new French oak and sweet vanilla result from 12 months barrel maturation. The juicy mouth-filling redberry flavours are complimented by a supple, well-balanced firm structure, with complex, roasted chestnut characters waiting in the wings. The fruit flavours last well into the after taste.

variety : Pinotage [ Pinotage ]

winery : Asara Wine Estate and Hotel

winemaker : Jan Van Rooyen

wine of origin :

analysis : alc : 13.5 % vol rs : 2.50 g/l pH : 3.46 ta : 2.90 g/l

ageing : A wine that drinks well now but will reward with at least 5 years cellaring.

in the cellar : The renaissance of Verdun Estate now sees the release of our first vintage of Pinotage. We are proud to be a producer of this truly noble South African varietal.

When the farm was purchased in 1995 a decision was taken to air graft a block of GewÃ¼rztraminer over to Pinotage. This proved to be highly successful and we now have a Pinotage of sufficiently high quality to put under our own label.

The grapes were handpicked fully ripe at 250 Balling and transported to the cellar-sorting table in 20 kg lugboxes. A portion of the juice had 24 hrs skin contact to enhance the fruit flavours and the balance went straight to fermentation to develop structure.

After pressing the juice was moved to a selection of new oak barrels. 80 % of the oak was French and 20 % American. The wine was cold stabilised and only bulk filtered prior to bottling, consequently there may be some sediment found in the bottom of the bottle.

This wine was released in July 2000.

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OTHER VINTAGES

Verdun Pinotage 1999

Pinotage

Jan Van Rooyen