Tempête Ignis Pinot Noir 2023

Located in the cool valley of Hemel-en-Aarde, near the coastal town of Hermanus south of Cape Town, the Storm estate cultivates its Pinot Noir vines on slopes exposed to the ocean breezes of the South Atlantic. The soils are primarily composed of clay, decomposed schist, and sandstone, providing natural drainage and good water retention. This temperate maritime terroir allows for a slow ripening of the grapes, preserving natural acidity and aromatic finesse, while precisely expressing the identity of the parcels selected for the Ignis Pinot Noir cuvée.

The Pinot Noir grapes are hand-harvested, carefully sorted, and then gravity-fed into the vats. After a short cold pre-fermentation maceration, fermentation takes place in open vats with gentle pump-overs and punch-downs to delicately extract color and tannins. The wine is then transferred to French oak barrels, mostly used, for extended aging on fine lees, with limited racking to preserve the purity of the fruit, the expression of the terroir, and the natural balance of the blend.

This wine reveals notes of ripe red fruit , black cherry , and plum , enhanced by spicy touches of pepper and clove , as well as delicate floral nuances of violet . Woody accents of toasted oak and vanilla blend into a subtly smoky structure. On the palate, the texture is silky, supported by fresh acidity, fine and well-integrated tannins, and a long, precise finish that maintains a beautiful tension.

The first grape vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really take off until the arrival of French Protestants in the 1680s with their skills and knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today, South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the Southern Hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often share more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards are also found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, heavily influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.