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The Drift There are still Mysteries 2012

The combination of the extreme climate, altitude and ancient, shale rich soil produces a wine that has intense flavour concentrating, but soft, beguiling tannin

variety : Pinot Noir [ 100% Pinot Noir ]
winery : The Drift Estate
winemaker : Bruce Jack and Gerhard Swart
wine of origin : Overberg
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol  rs : 1.7 g/l  pH : 3.46  
type : Red  style : Dry  
pack : 0  size : 0  closure : 0  

ageing : If stored correctly, the wine will be able to age for at least twenty years, probably thirty.
in the vineyard : 

This wine is from an intriguing single vineyard, planted at an altitude of 480m on a very steep, windswept, south west-facing slope (a perfect place for sun-downers). A field planting of three different Burgundian clones of Pinot Noir creat a dynamic complexity to the structure of the wine. This is extreme viticulture - growing grapes on the edge of possibility. In fact it is miraculour that this wine even exists. Like all the other vineyards planted on this slope it should have been destroyed by a wild bush fire in early 2006. However, this small block was saved by the heroic actions of Dirk Human, owner and winemaker of Black Oystercatcher Wines.
about the harvest: The Vineyard is picked over three days from the bottom of the block to the top, accounting for change in clay content and water retention properties of the soil. The idea is to pick everything when perfectly ripe, which often happens at a surprisingly low sugar content.
in the cellar : The grapes are destemmed, whole, except for 25% of each picking, which is retained as whole bunches. Of the destemmed berries, 30% are crushed by foot. The destemmed and crushed grapes ferment together with the whole bunches and obviously their stalks. Each picking is fermented separately, and we use different yeasts, including wild fermentation. After fermentation the wine is pressed to barrel where it goes through malolactic fermentation, before resting quietly (except for when we play the barrels bagpipes and cello - not at the same time, of course!) in a combination of new and 2nd fill barrels for a period of 18 months. The wine is bottled unfiltered.
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OTHER VINTAGES

The Drift There are still Mysteries 2012
Pinot Noir
The Drift There Are Still Mysteries Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir