Radford Dale Vinum Gamay Noir (2022)

The fruit for this wine comes from 2 vineyards, both south-east facing and on the Polkadraai hills. The young parcel, our maiden harvest from our own vines plated in pure, crunchy granite soils, contributing the majority of the fruit. The second parcel was planted in 1999, in profoundly granitic soils, and these grapes we pick a bit later, for full fruited exuberance. Both these vineyards benefit greatly from the cooling South-Easter Ocean breezes in the summer time.

The grapes were harvested by hand in the early morning and, once at the cellar, were manually sorted to ensure only the best bunches were selected, then destemmed, but not crushed. The whole berries were transferred to a 7000L oak fermenter for carbonic maceration, using wild yeast only. This technique lifts the fruit and creates intensity, while remaining fresh and sprightly. We employed very light extraction, with the focus on creating a lithe, supple texture. This complements the expressive fruit profile, while retaining depth and persistence. After the whole berry fermentation, the pomace was pressed in our basket press. The wine was then transferred to 300L French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Barrel maturation lasted 10 months and no new oak was used, true to our philosophy to always allow the wine to exhibit freshness, while adding texture and complexity