Appealing aromas of cherry and raspberry fruit with a trace of bonfire and floral perfume. A wine that whispers seductively rather than shouts. The red fruits promised by the nose are delivered on the palate: maraschino cherry, ripe raspberry and rich fruitcake – all sprinkled with bold spice. A light peppery nuance can be found too, lending the mouthful a vibrance and appealing energy. The buoyant fruit is countered by a deeper, loamy, forest floor element that demonstrates the balance of opposites. The cohesion of light and dark, delicacy and elegance with sinewy power lends agility and wonderful texture and tension of opposites. The oak is so well-knit it’s almost unobtrusive, lending structure and texture. Overall, a complex, rewarding and deliciously persistent mouthful.
variety : Pinot Noir [ 100% Syrah ]
winemaker : Dawie Botha
wine of origin : Olifants River
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 3.0 g/l pH : 3.52 ta : 5.4 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Medium taste : Fragrant wooded
pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Altima Estate is situated in Elandskloof, a 5 km-wide isolated valley north of Villiersdorp, surrounded by a mountain range that rises 1 km from the valley floor. The steep topography causes the valley to receive less direct sunlight due to the overshadowing mountains. Combined with an elevation of 600 to 800 m, this results in a distinctly cool continental climate. Quartz sandstone, belonging to the Table Mountain Sandstone group, is visible against the higher-lying mountains, while good, decomposed shale soils from the Malmesbury group dominate throughout the farm. This unique site produces fruit with high natural acidity and low pH levels, which contribute to the wine’s excellent ageing potential. The slow ripening period, coupled with the absence of heat waves during January and February, yields outstanding grapes with great structure and upfront aromas. Harvest typically occurs much later than at other sites in the Western Cape.
in the cellar : This vineyard was picked in two stages, the bottom part separately from the top part, due to slight differences in ripening and different clones, each contributing to a range of flavours and variation in structure . Grapes were hand-picked into small lug-boxes in the early morning and transported to the cellar by refrigerated trucks. All of the fruit was destemmed and fermented in old wooden 3-ton tanks and small 1-ton opentop stainless steel tanks. During fermentation, these grapes were handled with great care. After fermentation, the wine was aged in a combination of 10% new and the remaining old 225-litre French oak barrels for 10 months before being bottle-aged for at least two years.