SAAM The Collaboration Series Fairtrade Cinsault 2023

Bright red in colour. This fragrant wine boasts hints of fresh red berries, cherries and subtle spice on the nose with an elegant body and soft finish. A perfect summer red wine, it is recommended to serve this wine slightly chilled to highlight its vibrant and juicy sweet red fruit perfume.

Cinsault is a very drought resistant grape varietal and grows best in dry climates producing elegant wines. Known locally as Hermitage, it was a key component in creating the Pinotage varietal. The grapes were harvested from 35-year-old bushvine vineyards in the Paarl area. Harvesting took place in February in the early morning, at a minimum of 24° Balling, while still cool. The soils, made of decomposed granite and Malmesbury shales, are deep and strong in structure. No irrigation was used in these vineyard blocks as they only reled on winter rainfall. After the grapes were de-stemmed, cold maceration was given for two days. The wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks for five days with regular pump-overs. Made in an elegant, wooded style, thirty percent of this wine was matured in 500-litre French oak barrels, those being only a combination of old oak barrels, for ten months. Seventy percent of the wine was then aged in stainless steel tanks to ensure freshness. Once bottled, the wine was aged a further one month before being released.

Ready to be enjoyed now with the potential to age further for three to five years.

This wine will pair well with light summer dishes like seared tuna steaks and tomato-based seafood pasta or local favourites like “oepsies” (candied cherries wrapped in bacon) or pork, fresh herb and prune sausages.