A little bit of Provence in the Swartland here but with the granitic soils that Provence begs for. 2020 was the first vintage for this wine Jolandie’s first foray into the young bushvines of the Eikelaan Vineyard on the Paardeberg. Jolandie was thrilled with the inaugural release so she decided to grow production nominally and looked to tighten the wine up by harvesting it just a touch earlier. That said there is still plenty of wolf in this wine and she is not looking to make simple, pink colored Sauvignon Blanc! There is a savory edge to the pink fruited notes in the wine and it is the perfect spring and summer sipper.
The Grenache was hand-harvested early in the morning, packed in crates and allowed to spend 24 hours in a cold room. The following day the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, with only the free-run juice being used and left to settle naturally for a day. No enzymes were used during the settling process and the juice was racked from the thick, gross lees, but with the fine lees intact, to old 500L French barrels. Fermentation occurred naturally and without any additions and post-primary fermentation the wine was hit with a small addition of sulfur. After a total of six months aging the barrels were racked to tank to settle and the wine was bottled without fining or filtration and just a very small addition of sulfur.