Vrede Pinot Noir 2018

After being in charge of winemaking at the famous Hamilton-Russell for 12 years, Hannes Storm decided to start making his own wines. In 2008, he began planting his own vines in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and now has 4 different plots in total. He uses a gentle, less interventionist approach to create fine, elegant wines.

The Vrede Pinot Noir cuvée comes from a steep north-east-facing slope in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, with low-vigour, stony, clay-rich Bokkeveld shale soil. The estate's history is relatively recent: it was only in 2008 that winegrower Hannes Storm discovered 2 small plots with an exceptional terroir and decided to plant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay there. The harvest is done by hand. The grapes are destemmed, followed by 10 days of cold maceration in open vats. Fermentation takes place with native yeasts, then the wine is aged 11 months in French oak barriques, 28% of them new. No filtration or fining, with judicious use of sulphites. This wine reveals aromas of cherry, wild strawberries, violet petals, raspberry, cranberries, mushrooms, forest scents, red spices, clove and cocoa. The palate reveals the very soul of Pinot Noir in an elegant and subtle way. The tannins are fine and the acidity creates a tension that balances the fruity side of the wine. The finish is long and harmonious.

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.