De Grendel Op Die Berg Pinot Noir 2012

Wine: De Grendel Op Die Berg Pinot Noir 2012

Wine of Origin: Ceres Plateau

Winery Location: 112 Plattekloof Road, Panorama

Cellarmaster: Charles Hopkins

Winemaker: Elzette du Preez

Background: De Grendel is a sprawling farm on the outskirts of Durbanville owned by the Graaff family. Their winemaking team is headed up by cellar master Charles Hopkins who is obsessed with quality and this shows with the continued success he has with his wines.  However, not content with only making wines from the De Grendel vineyards, Charles saw the potential of producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Witzenberg region near Ceres where the extended Graaff family have a fruit farm, and so an agreement was made to make land available for vineyards. “The fact that the grapes come from a vineyard on top of the Witzenberg Mountains, has special significance for us”, says De Villiers Graaff, director of De Grendel Wines. “The family has a long history in Ceres, starting with my great uncle Dawie, and now cousin Pieter and brother Robert farming there. The area is unique in the Western Cape and a perfect terroir for chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. Charles and his team took their time to create the wine. Charles relates “The conditions on this apple farm proved to be perfect. Cultivated at very high altitude (964m) in soft shale, together with very cold temperatures ideal for late ripening, the grapes captured all the positive characteristics needed to make a benchmark pinot noir.”

After the pinot noir grapes were handpicked they were transferred to the cellar at De Grendel in refrigerated trucks where they were carefully sorted by hand and later fermented in upright wooded barrels. To achieve soft ripe tannins the wine making team transferred the fermenting juice four times over the skin cap for one hour periods. After fermentation the wine was racked at least three times for clarity and then transferred to new and old fill French oak barrels for a period of 12 months.

Result: Lively, red cherry colour with subtle aromas of vibrant red berry fruit with hints of wild spice. The medium bodied palate offers savoury red cherry and ripe mulberry flavour entwined with balanced fruit acid and soft tannins.

When to drink: Now till 2020

Drink with what: We enjoyed the wine with Beef fillet, pea, oyster mushroom, truffle, baby corn, aubergine, steamed bun, prepared by De Grendel’s Chef, Ian Bergh.

Expect to pay (prices may differ nationally): R175.00

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