David & Nadia Pinotage 2018
I think we all agree that great wine starts in the vineyards, right?
With their focus on ‘organic, old and dry land bush-vine vineyards from different areas with different soil types throughout the Swartland’, along with their belief that ‘natural balance, purity and freshness’ stem from respect for the soil and vineyards, it’s not hard to see why Nadia, a soil scientist and viticulturist, is an integral part of the David & Nadia brand.
The Wine:
Medium ruby with a medium nose of blackberries, black cherries, red cherries, strawberries, pomegranates, what I call Chinese guavas but are also known as Strawberry Guavas, musk, aniseed, cloves, fynbos, faint tobacco, hoisin sauce, and leather.
Dry, medium bodied, high acidity, young tight drying medium tannins, and a medium+ finish. The palate is more bright red fruited…and the finish is initially slightly unsettling in it’s youthful, herbal tannins that give way to…da da da - banana peel. But it keeps going and mellows out to show you that it may be worthwhile to hide this bottle for a few more years.
Balance (1) + Length (1) + Intensity (½) + Complexity (1) = A very good wine
Drink now, suitable for further ageing.
Viti + Vini:
Dryland farmed bush vines planted in 1991 and 1998 on a combination of pure granite and decomposed granite.
Harvested in 3 different batches and hand sorted.
Partially destemmed but not crushed and 20% whole bunch, pre-ferment cold soaked, then all fermented in concrete and vertical wooden foudre, and left on skins for 3 weeks with daily punch downs.
The wine is then pressed into an old 4000 litre vertical foudre.
Final thoughts:
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to interject with ’and Nadia’ when chatting to erm persons about these wines. And for this reason (a reminder to all the erm persons who tend to focus on the taller half of this marriage) I think we should all send a big cheers this Women’s Month to Nadia Sadie - the equal and equally formidable half of this duo making exceptional wines.
Find the Wine:
I picked up my bottle at the lovely Caroline's Wine.
