Additional information
| Quantity Options | 1, 6 |
|---|
Apogée Pinot Noir 2022
R340.00 – R2,040.00
The Apogée series from La Vierge epitomises the very best expression of terroir from our beautiful vineyards. It is a vineyard site driven wine that emphasises the subtle differences in altitude, aspect, clonal expression and soil that make our vineyards unique. Minimal winemaking intervention is utilised to allow the vines to speak for themselves.
Varietal: Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Pinot Noir100%
As the name suggests this wine is the ultimate expression of wine from La Vierge, the epitome of our efforts both in the vineyard and the winery.
The Vineyard
Soil Type Planted to Argillaceous Shale of the Bokkeveld Series
Aspect South East
Trellising System Vertical Shoot Positioning (Perold)
Age of Vines 15 years
Vines per hectare 6495
Average Yield 5 tons/ha
Production 2576 bottles
Climate
These Walker Bay vineyards of Hemel – en – Aarde Ridge are situated within close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The maritime climate being more “temperate” in style, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly sea breezes through the appellation during the summer. These winds in turn bring regular sea mists and overcast conditions to the valley and with it more even temperatures. The average temperature is 19° C and rainfall, approximately, 750mm per year.
The Harvest
All grapes were harvested by hand in cool early morning temperatures.
The specific vineyard is composed of clone 115 and 777, the blend contained mostly 115. The highest altitude bearing Pinot block on the farm is used which allows slow ripening, building a wine with texture without being under pressure for fast sugar accumulation.
Technical Notes
Each clone was destemmed into stainless steel fermenters whilst 20% remained as whole clusters. A cold soak period of 3 days was allowed before spontaneous fermentation took place. Fermentation lasted about 10 days, during alcoholic fermentation the must was lightly pumped over the grape skins twice a day. A further 4-5 days on the skins post ferment was allowed. The wine was then pressed off to barrel for maturation. It spent 10 months in a combination second fill and third fill barrels. The wine was removed from barrel and blended to a stainless-steel tank and kept for a further 6 months. This was done to give the wine time to homogenise whereafter it was filtered and bottled.
Analysis
| Alcohol by Volume | 13.18% |
| Total Acidity | 6.2 g/L |
| pH | 3.40 |
| Volatile Acid | 0.71 g/L |
| Residual Sugar | 2.2 g/L |
Styling
The wine shows the dark fruit expression of dark plum, cherry and violet aromas. There is a typical Hemel & Aarde savoury and spice expression of cloves, cracked black pepper and coriander seed. It has a well textured palate and vibrant acidity which balances the front palate fruit weight. The oak is supportive on the palate and helps carry the finish of soft forest floor and spicy notes.
