Angus Paul Pinotage 2022 ‘Transient Lands’

Angus Paul Pinotage
Kleur: helder kersenrood
Geur: open en aantrekkelijk, rood fruit, bessen, kersen, licht kruidig
Smaak: niet te zwaar, veel rood fruit, fijne bite, puur, zachte tannines
Houdbaar: op dronk, minimaal houdbaar tot eind 2027
Lekker bij: luxe BBQ, belegen kazen, lamsgerechten. kalkoen of parelhoen, Iets gekoeld drinken zo rond de 15 graden.

TASTING NOTES by Angus:
This vintage shows fruit abundance and generosity. The nose is loaded with waves of red and black berries, dark cherries and star anise. The palate is equally fruit forward: round, gentle tannins (a signature of the 2022 vintage) are coated in a bouncing fruit abundance. The acid is fine and taught.

WINEMAKING
Grapes are hand picked and cooled overnight. They were then fermented in open-top concrete basins (kuipe). Of the grapes, 15% were foot trodden whole bunches, and the remainder left as whole berries. No sulphur, yeast, acid, enzymes or water was added.
Fermentation took place over 10 days after which a maceration was carried out until the tannins had developed satisfactorily. After draining, the remaining grapes were pressed to old wooden barrels. A spontaneous malolactic fermentation then took place, and in early Autumn wines were sulphured for the first time. Wines were bottled in December after having spent 11 months in barrel with no racking.

THE NAME
A reference to the fleeting custodianship of the lands we, humans, grow crops on. Though we may now ‘own’ them, and describe them as ‘lands’ – the plural being implicit of ownership – they will continue their docile existence forever, should we be there to tend them or not. Notably, despite this, and quite incredibly, we have this product like no other – wine – that allows us to taste those particular aggregates of earth we plant on.

Platter’s ****(*) 93/100 
A good example of the new-wave fresh & comparatively light, elegant pinotages (13.1% alc here). Aromatic 2022 even more attractive than 2021 (4 stars, 89 pts). Brightly vivacious & flavourful though not overstated & more than simply fruity. Fine tannin adds to the succulent grip. 15% wholebunch. All wines bar Cinsault also in magnum.

WineMag 91/100
From Pinotage sourced from two sites in Stellenbosch, as well as Paardeberg and Stanford. 15% whole-bunch fermentation. Aromatics of black cherry, hints of floral perfume and herbs plus a base note of earth. Concentrated fruit, bright acidity and firm but not astringent tannins. Relatively full at a moderate acidity of 13%. A welcome addition to the growing number of New Wave examples of this variety.