Neethlingshof Pinotage 2016

ageing : 

The wine is ready to drink now, but will mature well over the next five to ten years.

Background
Grapes have been grown on Neethlingshof for more than 300 years or within 50 years of the Dutch East-India Company establishing a victualing station at the Cape to supply its passing ships. The farm was initially called De Wolvendans (The Dance of Wolves). Soon after full ownership of the farm was acquired by Johannes Henoch Neethling towards the end of the 1820s, the name was changed to Neethlingshof.
A member of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, acknowledged for its protection of indigenous habitat, the 273 ha estate has set aside 116 ha for conservation. It cultivates both red and white varietals, with the bias marginally in favour of whites. The main white varieties are Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. The predominant soil types found on the farm are Oakleaf and Tukulu.

The vineyards
Grapes were sourced from 19-year-old south-east facing vineyards. Grafted onto Richter 99 rootstock and grown in deep red soil at 125 m above sea level, the vines are trellised on a five-wire vertical hedge system and irrigated by means of drip system.

The grapes were harvested by hand at 26° Balling in mid- February with a yield of 8 tons per hectare.

Fermentation in rotation tanks took place at 25° to 28°C over six days. After malolactic fermentation the wine was matured in a combination of French (60%) and American (40%) oak, with 40% in new barrels for a period of nine months. The wine was bottled in January 2015 and released May of the same year.