Explosive aroma of ripe plum cherry, draped with mocha, chocolate decadence. On the palate, concentrated cherry, raspberry and very ripe plum framed by classic enticing toasty French Oak. Finishes with silky cinnamon and nutmeg. Irresistible.
Mother-in-law’s home baked turkey and bacon pie.
in the vineyard : We have a few strongly held views on Pinot Noir. For starterswe don’t believe Pinot Noir needs a cold, wet climate to produce great wine. Secondly, we like the BK5 selection – now uniquely South African. Thirdly, Pinot Noir grapes can talk.
All grapes talk to some degree, depending on how they have been treated, but Pinot Noir is the easiest to hear and the most difficult to understand. But, before we get too esoteric, this wine is only ever made from a single vineyard on the upper slopes of the Kuils River hills, called "The Mean Old Bastard Block". This is a grumpy vineyard, but when the weather is kind and we get a bit of rain at the right time, and when we’ve only asked The Mean Old Bastard for a few bunches per vine, this block can reveal a twinkling treasure trove of succulent, sweet, decadent Pinot Noir berries.
in the cellar : By the end of ‘Crush’ The Mean Old Bastard has yielded only about 13 small, precocious barrels of wine, which changes dramatically from vintage to vintage. Some years there is strawberry jam, ripe cherry and mocha, some years there is taciturn stewed plum and cloves.