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Spice Route Pinotage 2020

Charles Back was a pioneer in the Swartland when he started Spice Route in 1998 after tasting an exceptional Sauvignon Blanc and immediately buying the land on which it was grown. “Without [Charles]…the Swartland would still be regarded as a rural backwater” wrote Tim Atkin, who awarded the winery ‘Cru Bourgeois’ status in his South Africa Classification in 2019. Today, the region is the source of many of South Africa’s outstanding wines, yet Spice Route remains one of the best and most credible producers in the region, due largely to the fact that they own their own vineyards.

This wine is produced from a single block of bush vineyard on the Klein Amoskuil farm in Malmesbury. These unirrigated bushvines were planted in 1997 on Koffieklip soils. This deep ferricrete soil is comprised of decomposed granite from the Paardeberg Mountain percolated with iron rich brown and red stones. Koffieklip soils produce elegant red wines with robust structure.

The 2020 vintage was particularly dry with very minimal rainfall. The grapes had to be picked at the perfect time, to ensure there was the right balance of optimum fruit and tannin. The end result is a modern style of Pinotage, with soft tannins and a smooth, mouthfilling palate.

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 with 30% new oak used to complete malolactic fermentation and maturation. A small portion also matured in underground clay pots.

This Pinotage has an intense ruby red colour with rich blackcurrant and cherry aromas. On the palate, there are intense dark fruit flavours complemented by bright acidity and subtle spice.

£17.49

6 in stock

Spice Route Pinotage 2020