False Bay Bush Vine Pinotage 2023

This cuvée comes from the Coastal Region, in the Western Cape, near False Bay. The grapes come from old, unirrigated bush vines in Stellenbosch, under the cooling influence of the ocean. These vines, well adapted to their environment, produce small, naturally balanced and concentrated berries.

The grapes are picked by hand and fermented with their native yeasts in stainless-steel tanks, with no additions other than sulphur. Only the free-run wine is kept for this cuvée. Ageing then continues in foudres for several months, to polish the wild character of the Pinotage while keeping its fruit.

This wine reveals notes of plum, blackberry, black cherry, ripe red fruit, thyme, pepper, smoke and cocoa. Very ripe black and red fruit comes with smoky, spicy notes. The palate is round and juicy, with ripe tannins free of over-extraction and a spicy finish.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their 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 have 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 can also be 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, strongly 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 Cinsaut 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.