Made from the lesser known Garnacha Peluda, often referred to as 'Hairy Grenache', as the grapes are actually quite hairy! Its also known in France as Lledoner Pelut.
All grapes are handpicked during the early morning hours and then cooled overnight in a temperature – controlled room at 5 °C. 60% of these grapes are then crushed and destemmed, whilst the remaining 40% is fermented as whole cluster. Natural fermentation takes place in open fermenters. Extraction is obtained by light punch – downs twice a day. After fermentation is completed, the wine is left on the skins for another seven days and then pressed to neutral oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation is completed in the barrel. The wine is then racked from the lees and given a low dose of sulphur. The wine spends a total of 10 months in the barrel before it is bottled.
"I'm getting to understand the variety better," says Duncan Stuart of Garnacha Peluda,
otherwise known as "hairy" Grenache. Aged in neutral oak, it’s a scented refined red with
rosehip, rooibos tea and wet stone aromas and a palate of raspberry, pomegranate and
redcurrant." 92pts Tim Atkin MW South Africa Report 2024
