Stellenzicht Golden Triangle Pinotage 2001

ABSA Top 10 Pinotage 2003
The richness and intensity of colour result in this wine being almost opaque. Deep purple with an almost scarlet tinge, the colour alone speaks volumes about the wineâ€™s character. On the nose, the true, classic Pinotage character is forthcoming with its sweetish, plumy fruit flavours backed up by layers of spicy oak, cinnamon and cloves. If ever a smell was mouth-watering, this is. It is only when the wine is tasted that its full character and potential is realized. Full and rich, with tones of stewed-fruit flavours and supple tannins, the wine is mouth-filling to say the least. The aftertaste lingers well and begs for the next sip.

This is certainly not a sea-food wine. It should be enjoyed at a cool room temperature with game birds, spicy fillet with ginger or with smoked Kudu. Non-conformists will be well advised to try it with chocolate mousse â€“ it works wonderfully.

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variety : Pinotage [ 100% Pinotage ]

winery : Stellenzicht Vineyards

winemaker : Guy Webber

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 14.86 % vol rs : 3.1 g/l pH : 3.52 ta : 5.5 g/l va : 0.78 g/l so2 : 98 mg/l fso2 : 43 mg/l

type : Red wooded

pack : Bottle

AWARDS

ABSA Top 10 Pinotage 2003

ageing : Although drinkable while in its youth, the true potential of the wine will only be reached with further cellaring. Optimum drinkability should be reached by 2008 while the structure of the wine will carry it well into the next decade.

in the vineyard : Planted in 1995, these young bush-vines showed their potential with the 2000 vintage, and have surpassed even that wine with the 2001 vintage. The vineyard lies on a relatively flat slope with the rows orientated from north to south. The medium-potential soil originates from decomposed granite and the vines received an overhead, supplementary irrigation at the time of veraison. Being bush vines, the yield balanced out at 7,8 tonnes per hectare â€“ perhaps slightly lower that could be expected but with excellent concentration and health.

about the harvest: The 2001 vintage was marked by above-average temperatures both in the preceding winter and in the growing season. Below-average rainfall throughout the season, except during spring, resulted in the grapes reaching the winery at full ripeness with average analyses of 25.8 degrees Balling, 5.9 g/l Total acids and phâ€™s of 3.32. Being bush vines, all the grapes were picked by hand.

in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the mash was transferred to closed stainless steel tanks where fermentation was induced by the addition of pure yeast strains of NT50 and N96. Fermentation took place at between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius with a light pneumatic pressing taking place just prior to the completion of fermentation.

Half of the wine completed fermentation in stainless steel tanks while the other half was transferred to Oak barrels where the fermentation was completed. Barrel maturation time averaged out at 16 months with the barrel selections being as follows:
44% New French Oak, 20% new American Oak, 5% new Hungarian Oak and 22% Second-fill French Oak, 4% second-fill American Oak and 5% second-fill Russian Oak.

Bottling took place on 10 March 2003, and a total of 2871 cases (12 x 750ml) were produced.

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