Hill&Dale Pinotage 2009

Colour: Deep, rich ruby with youthful purple edges.
Bouquet: Typically complex with sweet, spicy undertones of cinnamon, cloves, sweet plums and prunes.
Taste: Soft and friendly with rich, mouth-filling flavours of ripe cherries and vanilla. A typical modern-styled Pinotage with upfront fruit flavours and an elegant finish.

Very versatile, this wine will best complement game casseroles, red and white meat dishes, spicy game fish dishes and savoury pizzas.

variety : Pinotage [ 100% Pinotage ]

winery : Hill and Dale

winemaker : Guy Webber & Samantha de Morney-Hughes

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 14.04 % vol rs : 1.40 g/l pH : 3.58 ta : 5.20 g/l va : 0.60 g/l so2 : 78 mg/l

type : Red style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

ageing : Probably best enjoyed at an age of around three to five years, but should last well into the double digits.

in the vineyard : Background
Stellenzicht's Hill&Dale label offers a range of accessibly styled wines with a New World character for international appeal, created by award-winning winemaker Guy Webber. Despite their being made for early and easy enjoyment, Webber has eschewed a generic format for these wines, instead choosing to clearly express their origins.

Grapes for Hill&Dale wines are selected exclusively from Stellenbosch vineyards. An extensive vineyard management programme has been established with regular inputs from international specialists.

The name for the range was derived from Stellenzicht's Hill&Dale farm, located just outside the town of Stellenbosch.
The leaf logo on the label depicts an oak tree leaf, synonymous with the historic university town.

Vineyards (viticulturist: Prof. Eben Archer)
Grapes were sourced mainly from trellised vineyards established in soils of granitic origin. Pinotage is generally an early-ripening variety, which thrives on full sunlight and slightly higher temperatures. The 2009 vintage was another excellent vintage for Pinotage, characterised by slightly warmer summer temperatures, with above-average rainfall during the growing season, and relatively dry conditions during the ripening period. These conditions ensured that excellent quality grapes were used in the creation of this wine.

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested by hand and machine between 9 and 18 February, at an average of 24° B.

in the cellar : After harvesting the grapes were de-stemmed and crushed. Fermentation took place in closed horizontal stainless-steel tanks, with selected yeast strains, at 28° to 30°C. Skin contact was kept to a minimum and a large portion of the grapes was pressed before the completion of fermentation.

After fermentation the wine was racked and spontaneous malolactic fermentation allowed to take place. The wine was matured in a combination of French, Eastern European and American oak for an average of 16 months before being blended and prepared for bottling. The wine was bottled on 30 August 2010 with the total production being just under 7,500 cases (12 x 750ml).

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