Origin- South Africa

Region- Stellenbosch

Grapes- Cinsault

Type- Red

Style- Bright and refreshing, light, peppery & fruity red

Alcohol- 12.6%

One site: Firgrove; one grape: Cinsault. A vineyard that fell out of the sky. Planted in 1966 along one of the least picturesque (present day) but unsung terroirs of the Cape, whose greater area is now known as Macassar. These old vines dig deep into the coarse red granite soils, the sea a couple kilometres aways and the Helderberg looms behind them. For a good bottle, Cinsault really demands a good site, and this one has it all.

Grapes are hand picked and cooled overnight by Angus Paul wines. The following morning they are put into bins for maceration as complete whole bunches and are thoroughly trodden. No sulphur, yeast, acid, enzymes or water were added. Natural fermentation took place over 10 days after which a maceration was carried out until the tannins had developed satisfactorily (about 5 more days). After draining, the remaining grapes were pressed to large old wooden barrels.

A spontaneous malolactic fermentation then took place, and in early Autumn wines were sulphured for the first time. Wines were bottled in October after having spent 8 months in barrel with no racking.

White pepper is the foremast of the aromatics, pervading & pungent it almost fills the room.

On its heels come the charming signatures of Cinsault: strawberries and crushed raspberries. The tannins are a fine but firm structure around an ethereal flavour core, and the granitic soils and maritime climate show their influence in the constant, natural brightness from the nose to the tail of the wine.

Diapsalmata loosely translates to a ‘refrain’, which befits the introduction of Cinsault into the range, as it provides a call-back between the ‘Single Sites’ of Chenin (and potentially Pinotage).

This ethereal grape, often bemoaned, is a song of the turbulent South African past, and when grown in the right spot, is a fragile voice of the Chorus between the louder titans of the grape landscape.

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