South African Wine Information Centre
Haute Cabriere
 


» Haute Cabrière   +27.218768500     www.cabriere.co.za     info@cabriere.co.za
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Our Pinot Noir Commitment

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  Haute Cabrière
Phone +27.218768500
Fax +27.218768501
eMail info@cabriere.co.za
URL www.cabriere.co.za
Address Lambrechts Road (Pass Road)
P.O. Box 245
Franschhoek
7690
South Africa

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about us » Our Pinot Noir Commitment
 
Pinot Noir is the most fragile, demanding cultivar we know, and yet it is responsible for the creation of the famous red wines of Burgundy. Pinot Noir is therefore the most exciting challenge and needs total commitment from the grower to succeed.

The Haute Cabrière underground and gravity fed cellar meets the criteria to care for this gentle giant, and our wine growing philosophy: vine, soil, sun, man, Sun, Soil, Vine, Man understands that great Pinot Noir is grown, not made.

Our Pinot Noir vineyards, grown on 60-80% stone with underlying clay, keep our vines lean and hard at work to express the terroir with 10 000 vines of new Burgundian clones planted per hectare. The more vines, the more roots, the more individual intimate terroir expression. Pinot Noir is a cultivar that also records the vintage more accurately than any other cultivar. The Burgundian Vignerons say, "If the Pinot Noir he grows is the same each vintage, he must have an uncle in Algiers". The beauty of the differences in the vintages makes one vintage more suitable to highlight the flavours of a particular dish than another and therefore more fun to practice to the 'True Marriage of Food and Wine'.

The evolution of our Haute Cabrière vineyards and their vintages is depicted beautifully in the collection of vinoteque wines now offered you. Pinot Noir should be served cool, at 16° C, as in Burgundian cellars where it tastes best.

Pinot Noir Vintages

2000 Vintage: The long summer of 2000 created a powerful wine of substance with a firm finish. This vintage shows great potential to develop over the next 10 years.

1999 Vintage: A hot vintage that surprised us with its silky elegance containing intense fruit flavours. The 1999 Haute Cabrière Pinot Noir is exceptionally well balanced and delicious.

1998 Vintage:The vintage expresses a beautiful balance between ripe fruit and grape tannins, which are easy to enjoy in its youthful stage, although the complexity increases day by day. Our Pinot Noir is not a new world wine, and does not get in-between you and what you are enjoying, food or company. The 1998 is wonderfully versatile to be enjoyed from fish right through to venison.

1997 Vintage: A cool vintage that ripened one month later that 1996 and 1998. This cool ripening could not produce an abundance of colour and tannin, however it preserved all the delicate pinot noir, ideal with kabeljou, yellow tail, veal and duck breast.

1996 Vintage: Warm vintage, well ripened fruit, enveloped with beautifully integrated wood support. The Burgundians say: "wood should be the platform for wine to perform on, not a curtain to disguise it". This vintage is gradually opening up, revealing taste graciously, linking the bouquet to an integrated, firm ending. This 1996 vintage was dedicated to Theodora von Arnim who passed away during that year, as it was big enough to honour her commitment and contribution to Cabrière as well as the magic of great food and great wines.

1995 Vintage: The coolest ripening season experienced yet, producing a classic Pinot Noir often preferred by the Burgundian visitors who see Pinot Noir philosophically as a red white wine, with versatility and charm to compliment grand cuisine. The vintage has taken its time to evolve elegantly and compliments fish, veal terrine and duck, with its exciting flavours.

1994 Vintage: Haute Cabrière's maiden vintage, a small, strictly select crop, picked under the guidance of Carol Beaujeu from Burgundy. The grapes were fermented in a horizontal tank, still at the bottom cellar, which resulted in higher fruit tannins extracted than the latter vintages. We feel this vintage is best drunk now. Its rich ripe fruit and fullness was awarded five stars by John Platter when it was released, the first Pinot Noir to receive this award in South Africa. This big wine calls out for venison, or any grand rich challenge of gourmet delight in the company of discerning lovers of food and wine.

In Vino Veritas:
Each vintage and wine has its own intimate story to tell. It is the most accurate recording you can have of a vintage as you can taste what happened.