Mellasat White Pinotage 2014

Technical Analysis

Winemaker - Mellasat Vineyards
Main Variety - Pinotage
Alcohol - 13.66 %vol
RS - 2.8 g/l
Total Acid - 6.4 g/l
Appellation - Paarl

Characteristics

Type - White
Style - Dry


Tasting Notes

The world’s first White Pinotage - “The paradox of this wine is that the eye belies the other senses! Making white wine from red grapes using South Africa’s unique Pinotage grape. Whole bunch pressing prevented the juice from obtaining colour from the skins. Barrel fermented and matured for eleven months with lees stirring gives this wine a slightly creamy, nutty character to balance the tropical fruit and banana flavours.”

Blend Information

100% Pinotage

Food Suggestions

Strong flavoured fish & seafood. Mild curries (Bobotie/Chicken Korma). Chinese/Asian food. SERVING TEMPERATURE: Between 10/12°C.

In The Vineyard

VINEYARD LOCATION: On the farm Dekkersvlei in Klein Drakenstein near Paarl at 254 metres above sea level
VINE AGE: 17 years
SOIL: Decomposed Granite
AVERAGE YIELD: 9.87 tonnes per hectare
IRRIGATION: The vines are trellised with drip irrigation

About The Harvest

HARVEST: 5th Feb 2014, 10th Feb 2014 & 17th Feb 2014

In The Cellar

AGEING: 300 litre Romanian oak barrels for eleven months (7% first fill, 14% second fill, 7% third fill and 72% older)

The grapes were whole bunched pressed (i.e. without de-stemming or crushing) in a pneumatic “bag” press to minimize colour retention. Extended juice settlement for two days using a settling enzyme and bentonite removes any blush the juice may have retained. The juice (by then a coral colour) was then transferred to 300li Romanian oak barrels (7% first fill, 14% second fill, 7% third fill and 72% older barrels). Batch 3 received an acidification adjustment using tartaric acid to correct pH. Yeast (Laffort VL2) was inoculated then fermented for approximately 12 days at an average temperature of 18˚C. Fermentation caused any remaining “tinting” in colour to drop out. Malolactic fermentation was only partially encouraged in barrel after the alcoholic fermentation and the lees stirred for six months on a weekly basis by rolling the barrels. The length of time for barrel fermentation and maturation was eleven months. Protein stabilisation was undertaken using bentonite, and a gentle fining was finally done to clarify the wine prior to bottling. No filtering of the wine was undertaken except at bottling when a medium filtration (split AF70/110) was undertaken.



Other Vintages

Wine Wine Maker Main Variety
Mellasat White Pinotage 2019 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2018 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2015 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2014 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2013 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2012 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2010 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage
Mellasat White Pinotage 2016 Mellasat Vineyards Pinotage

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Drink Responsibly. Not for persons under the age of 18.