Tabula Rasa PN114 Pinot Noir

Beef, Veal, Game (deer, venison), Poultry

Oak Valley is situated high along the Groenlandberg Mountain Range in one of the coolest wine growing regions in South Africa; Elgin. Attention to detail in the vineyards and our minimalist intervention approach in the cellar is what shapes our cool climate wine styles. Oak Valley’s signature is elegance.

The Winter of 2020 gave us good rains spread evenly over the months of June to September. Late Winter rains during September combined with very cold temperatures delayed budburst and the season got off to a slightly delayed start. Budburst was a little uneven as a result of these cold and wet conditions but once the vines broke out their Winter rest, the growth caught up. A difficult flowering period of high wines with rain unfortunately reduced the crop load of our Chardonnay especially. The late Spring and early Summer brought warmer temperatures finally but with frequent light rains and plenty of typical cloud cover. Mid Summer temperatures were cool resulting in a very gradual rise in sugar levels and plenty of time to develop beautiful depth of flavour. The smaller yields also contributed to incredible concentration and palate weight. The resulting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines have a great balance of concentration, great acid levels, complexity and depth of flavour. Harvest 2021 started on 12 February with a new and exciting Chardonnay black that have added one more clone to our arsenal, Dijon clone 96 with the Pinot Noirs following closely behind.

Barrel maturation in 50% new French oak barrels is done for 10 months before bottling and extended bottle maturation until release.

Fruit is hand-picked from selected vines within our oldest block of Pinot Noir, placed into lugs and meticulously hand sorted at the winery. Grapes were gently destemmed to whole berries into small open-top fermenters. After 5 days of cold maceration, spontaneous fermentation ensued. Two gentle punch downs a day led to delicate colour and flavour extraction. After backet pressing and settling, we moved the wines to barrels for malolactic fermentation. A careful approach to maturation using lightly toasted French oak from artisanal cooperages in Burgundy encourages finesse, balance and allows the unique vineyard characteristics to be emphasized.