Five centuries ago the ancient mariners braved uncharted seas to round the Cape of Good Hope in search of exotic spices. Their nerve and dash inspire the Spice Route philosophy. We have found our signature wine style in the rolling hills along the Cape’s West Coast, where unirrigated vines produce grapes with small thick skinned berries – ripe fruit that is dense, rich and full flavoured. A passionate dedication to exceptional quality and traditional hand crafting captures the essence of this fruit in the wines of the Spice Route.

IN THE VINEYARD:

This wine is made from a single bushvine vineyard on our farm, Klein Amoskuil in Malmesbury. These un-irrigated bushvines were planted in 1997 on Koffieklip soil.

HARVEST DATE: 17th February 2014

WINEMAKING:

The bunches were fermented in 5-ton open concrete fermenters with manual punch-down of the skins twice a day, extracting deep colour and flavour. The wine was pressed off and transferred to tight-grain American oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, of which half were seasoned barrels.

WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS:

“Pinotage is truly at home in the Swartland and this vineyard proves this point year after year. 2014 was a low yielding, concentrated vintage, producing a bold wine built to age.”

TASTING NOTE:

Intense ruby red colour. Black plums and cherries on the nose, with dark spice and cedar. Fresh dark fruits complimented by firm but elegant tannin and lingering spice.

[Category: Red Wines, Spice Route]