Radford Dale The Antidote Gamay Noir (2019)

The fruit for this wine comes from a single 20-year-old vineyard and is high up against a South-East facing slope overlooking the ocean. These vines grow in decomposed granite soil and benefit greatly from the South Easter sea breeze in summertime, cooling the entire vineyard. Gamay is extremely rare in South Africa and these grapes come from one of only a handful of vineyards in production, totalling less than 10 hectares. The Cape has been facing a major drought, resulting in reduced yields but more concentrated fruit. In the lead up to the 2018 harvest, we experienced another winter with lower than average rainfall. Conditions were cold but very dry. The upside was even budding and low disease pressure.

The grapes were all hand-picked at dawn to capture freshness and acidity while retaining elegance in the flavour expression. The bunches were hand sorted and a combination of whole bunch and whole berry carbonic maceration took place in a 7000L oak fermenter, 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 lithe, supple texture. This complements the expressive fruit profile, while retaining depth and persistence. The berries were basket pressed to ensure only the purest liquid was extracted and the wine was then matured for 12 months in older (3 to 4-year-old) French oak barrels. Apart from a minute amount of sulphur added before bottling, there are no additives in this wine. It is also unfiltered and will naturally throw a deposit over time.

Hearty meat stews or pork sausages