Testalonga Cahn’s Pinotage 2021

Martin’s note 

This is a very special wine which was uniquely made for me and my wine store store in Auckland:  www.cahns.co.nz   The label image was taken from a photograph I took while waiting for friends at the Outlook Bar in Hout Bay in Cape Town in 2019.  This was adapted in his own spectacular way by Craig.  This is, perhaps, the only ‘natural’ pinotage in the world, made by South Africa’s top exponent of natural wines.  

Winemaker’s Personal Note

Cahn’s is a unique wine made especially for Martin Cahnbley in New Zealand. 2019 was the first time this has been done, the photo is taken by Martin on one of his many trips to Cape Town. Taken at Moullie Point looking up through the spaces between two umbrellas. It is a strong photo with a personal connection for Martin yet appears abstract enough to draw the viewer in for a closer look. We love the photo as it has 2 distinct lines that run through the picture and create mystery. The grape used in the wine is Pinotage which can be seen as a “Black Sheep” wine in the wine industry, but Martin tasted one particular barrel that he really enjoyed so we decided to bottle it for him, we are very glad we did!

What we love about this block is that it produces very balanced purple fruited wines, and once the wine has finished fermentation the acid doesn’t fall out (like it does in a lot of pinotage blocks) but it retains its relatively low (for Pinotage) pH and fruit structure.

Terroir 

Decomposed Granite, West facing, 200m above sea level, from the Paardeberg.

Viticulture

The vineyard was planted in 1972, bush vine (un-trellised), farmed organically. This is a block we started working with in 2019 for the first time, it is from a farm that has been farmed organically since 2001, the farmer no longer wants to make his own wine so we have acquired the block. The soil is very exposed (lots of rocks) and this comes through in the wines back bone. The block produces quite small compact bunches but very tight skins with a lot of fruit and pronounced acidity

Vinification

Hand harvested and then destemmed without crushing into open fermentation tanks (2000L). It is Fermented and then pressed into 500l barrels. No yeast (or other) inoculation or additives apart from a small amount of SO2 shortly before bottling. Ambient fermentation (the juice/ wine is not cooled). 100% malolactic fermentation.  The wine is not fined but went through a very basic clarifying filtration.