The fruit for the Radford Dale Vinum Gamay Noir 2021 comes from 2 vineyards, both south-east facing and on the Polkadraai hills. The young parcel, maiden harvest from Radford Dale's own vines planted in pure, crunchy granite soils. The second parcel was planted in 1999 in granitic soils and these grapes are picked a bit later for full fruited exuberance. Both these vineyards benefit greatly from the cooling South-Easter sea breeze in the summer. Gamay is extremely rare in South Africa and there are only a handful of vineyards in production, totaling less than 10 hectares. The grapes were harvested early morning and once at the cellar, manually sorted to ensure only the best bunches were used then destemmed, but not crushed. The berries were transferred to a 7,000-litre oak fermenter for carbonic maceration, using wild yeast only. This technique lifts the fruit and creates intensity, while remaining fresh and sprightly. A very light extraction was employed, with the focus on creating lithe, supple texture. This complements the expressive fruit profile, while retaining depth and persistence. After the whole berry fermentation finished, the pomace was pressed in our basket press after which the wine was transferred to 300-litre French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Barrel maturation lasted 10 months and no new oak was used as they wanted the wine to exhibit its freshness while adding texture and complexity. Vegan friendly. Bottled at 11.5%. (Bottle size 750ml)

Nose: Aromatic mulberry and raspberry notes over a little hint of gunflint.

Palate: Generous and juicy, the palate shows medium weight with ripe elderberry and raspberries. Mid-palate has a subtle savoury character.

Finish: A rewardingly full finish with lingering notes of cherries and sweet spices.

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