The Drift Pinot Noir There are still Mysteries 2018

The Drift There Are Still Mysteries Pinot Noir – This block will get whacked by the South-Easter. I was half sliding, half walking down the steep gravel slope. We were staking out what would eventually become the small vineyard that made this wine. Drift Estate wines are all unmistakably mountain-born. The crunchiness of elegant red fruit tells you the grapes ripened at altitude. The concentration of aroma and flavour are the result of the wind. And with this Pinot, the crisp, tenacious finish is a cool-climate, mountain signature. After soil tests decades ago, this estate unearthed this little spur of soil – unlike any ever seen in South Africa. Ancient, decomposed Table Mountain sandstone, mixed with weathered shale and red clay and interspersed with metamorphosed limestone. It looked perfect to grow powerful, yet elegant Pinot Noir. And so it has proved. We produce 7 barrels a year, but only bottle in exceptional years. To date (in 2018) we have only released three vintages from a vineyard planted in 2002.