Belle Amie Blanc de Noir 2024
R145,00 – R870,00
This “blush” wine offers aromas and flavours of water-melon and pomegranate. Maturation on the lee’s results in a silky texture with a bone-dry finish.
100% Syrah
W.O. Elgin
The 2024 harvest got off to a nervous start as we encountered a mini-heat-wave at the end of January, which resulted in some pretty severe, localised wild-fires. Thankfully, these were brought under control within a couple of days, followed by a nice downpour to quench the fires. Often, it is not the fires themselves that damage the harvests potential, it is smoke-taint. In the event of the vineyard becoming covered by smoke there is a real possibility of this smoke penetrating the skins (not to mention any residual ash that may end up in the juice and fermentations). Thankfully, the Palmiet River acted as a natural barrier and after numerous sample tests, the vineyards were declared smoke-taint-free. The rest of the harvest continued without any further weather-shocks and each varietal ripened along its desired path, all in the correct order. The grapes for the Belle Amie Syrah Blanc-de-Noir were ready for picking shortly after the Sauvignon Blanc in mid-March.
We picked the Syrah grapes at just under 21 Balling, which has resulted in a lighter, crisper wine. The berries were harvested early in the morning and were left on their stems while filling the press. We then left the press for about half an hour for the grapes to start releasing some of their colour into the juice, as the bunches compressed via gravity. Once we decided that the right amount of colour had been extracted, the grapes were pressed and separated from their skins, with the subsequent “pink” juice being sent into a stainless-steel tank at 12°C. Settled over-night and then racked into a separate steel tank, the juice was allowed to warm up slowly, with the natural fermentation kicking in 2 days later. The fermentation took just over 12 days in total with a yeast inoculation towards the very end just to finish off any remaining sugar. The wine was then left on the lees for 5 months prior to bottling in early September.
This process has resulted in a light and refreshing wine with an alcohol of 12% vol. The “blush” colour of the wine is typical of a Blanc de Noir style (white wine from black grapes), with beautiful clarity when observed through natural light. The aromas and flavours of water-melon and pomegranate get the tastebuds salivating in anticipation of the wave of freshness to be experienced on the palate. Fruity, well balanced with a silky texture and a gravity-defying lightness. This wine is complimented by a bone-dry, crisp and refreshing finish that leaves you craving the next sip.
Though perfect to consume on its own as a refreshing thirst-quencher, this wine has enough depth and complexity to pair with a multitude of dishes including sea-food, caprese salad, light cheeses, Parma ham, carpaccio, roasted vegetables, crudites and goes exceptionally well with poached eggs and salmon!
Alc:12% • RS:1.4• TA:4.9 • pH:3.5 • FSO2:23 • TSO2:116
