BACKGROUND

Appassimento means “Passionate” in Italian. This wine is inspired by an Italian winemaking method, where grapes are naturally dried on the vine to produce a concentrated wine (accompanied with sweeter aromas and higher alcohol levels).

 

TASTING NOTES

Deep garnet colour. Concentrated aromas of blackberry compote. Seamless tannins sculpt a lingering palate filled with a tapestry of dark fruit delicacies. A beautiful finish of oak nuances and sweet persisting flavours.Top of Form

 

VINEYARDS

Pinotage from a 23-year-old, dry land vineyard with a W-E row direction on a south-facing slope in Darling was used. Oakleaf and Tukulu soil, that has a good water retention.  The vineyard is 12km from the West Coast, with the South-Easter wind cooling down the canopy during the summer nights, creating a long ripening phase.

 

WINEMAKING

The grapes were crushed and destemmed into two open-top fermenters. After two days of cold soaking, we inoculated with a selected yeast strain. Manual punch downs were done, three times daily. The fermentation was quite slow. After 7 days on the skins, pressing commenced. Malolactic conversion in oak. The wine spent 12 months in older French oak barrels.