Ponthuis Pinot Noir 2021 Case
R2184,00
A complex and layered wine. Whole berry fermentation took place in large, open French oak vats using only indigenous yeasts from the vineyards. A slow, cool fermentation incorporating manual punchdowns has resulted in this superbly balanced wine. Wild, dark-berry fruits and a hint of raspberry intermingle with supple, well-rounded tannins offering a slightly earthy texture on the long-lingering finish. Naturally fermented and matured in Foudres, Vats and Barrels for 10 months prior to bottling.
100% Pinot Noir
W.O. Elgin
Elgin Vintners, established in 2003, farms 45 hectares of vineyards in the cool-climate Elgin Valley. Our main cultivars are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. We also have Merlot and Syrah. We practise sustainability in business, vineyards, and our people. Critics have awarded our wines top global accolades. Elgin Vintners crafts wines of exceptional poise, finesse, and elegance.
Elgin is South Africa’s coolest wine region. Cooler climates keep grape clusters connected to their roots for longer. They develop more characteristics and achieve physiological ripeness more gradually with lower sugar levels and consequently lower alcohols. The resultant wines leave one with an impression of delicacy, but also power and insistence over warmer-climate examples, which show bolder but less persistent flavours.
Elgin vineyards sit at 305 m, the fourth highest in South Africa. The cold Atlantic lies close; this has a profound influence on day/night temperatures and prevailing south-easterly winds. The South-Easter can bring a cooling respite to the vineyards, but can also bring extensive cloud cover that gets restricted by the mountains and extends back over the region. This blocks out sunlight, reduces temperatures and slows the ripening of the grapes. In extreme cases, about four or five times yearly, the wind is strong enough and the clouds thick enough to enable precipitation known locally as a Black South-Easter. This dumps quite large amounts of rain throughout the day. On calmer, warmer days, cool coastal breezes get sucked in from the sea as the warmed land air begins to rise. This reduces the temperature very quickly in the afternoon and into the night and helps maintain the acid levels in the grapes. The ripening period of the grapes on the vine is extended, resulting in natural balance and complex and powerful flavours.
We tuck growing shoots between the wires frequently. Suckering is done twice during the growing season, in early November and January. After véraison, all small green bunches are removed. About four weeks before harvest, we strip bunch-zone leaves to achieve full phenolic ripeness.
Upon receiving them, we destemmed and didn’t crush the grapes and left 30% as whole bunches. Natural fermentation occurred in open-top wooden fermenters without inoculation with commercial yeast. We pumped over twice daily during the first half of fermentation, then reduced to once a day to prevent over-extraction of tannins and phenolics. Fermentation lasted 18 days.
Seven days after fermentation, we began skin maceration. We then pressed the fully fermented wine to separate it from the skins and filled it into French oak barrels of 500 L, 300 L, and 225 L, of which 20% were new oak. Malolactic fermentation was completed in the barrel, followed by ten months of maturation prior to bottling.
Pinot Noir’s natural cherry and game characters pair wonderfully with the sweet and smoky flavours of barbecue. In particular, barbecued pork and skewers with bacon wrap will be highlighted by the corresponding flavours in Pinot Noir. You would also be surprised how well barbecued chicken goes with a glass of Pinot Noir. And to top it all, chocolate-covered strawberries will satisfy the taste buds.
Alcohol: 13.50 % Residual Sugar: 3.4 Total Acid: 4.40 pH: 3.76
