variety : Pinotage [ 100% Pinotage ]
winemaker : Cornelis Dumas
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.6 % vol rs : 3.1 g/l pH : 3.5 ta : 5.7 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fragrant wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
Jacobsdal Wine Estate, which lies between Stellenbosch and Kuils River, and situated 10 kms from the False Bay coast, is able to take maximum advantage of the cooling effects of prevailing maritime breezes. The farm has been in the Dumas family for three generations. The present owner and winemaker is Cornelis Dumas who has a close affinity for Pinotage, a varietal with which he has been working since 1966, using traditional, French techniques. His son Hannes assists him.
Vineyard Location
The grapes were sourced from dryland bush vines, established 140m above sea level. Facing southwest, the vineyards grow in sandy, loamy soils with a yellow clay substructure, ensuring good drainage and water retention. They were between 26 and 36 years old at the time of harvest.
Viticulturist: Bennie Liebenberg
about the harvest: Grapes were harvested by hand between 24° - 25° Balling in February, when fully ripened, with an average yield of five tons per hectare.
in the cellar : The juice was given four to five days' skin contact fermenting in open tanks. Fermentation occurred spontaneously from natural yeast cells on the grape skins. This procedure has been a trade mark in the making of their wines for many years and allows for more subtle and deeper flavours with tannins less evident.
The cap was regularly punched down by hand for maximum extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. Fermentation was completed in closed tanks. After spontaneous malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked from the lees and matured in small French oak barrels for a period of 12 to 18 months before the final blend of the different barrels was made up.