The Fledge & Co Katvis Pinot Noir 2021

Leon informs me:

"Philosophy – “Preconception hinders the enjoyment of discovery” – the mantra behind crafting Katvis. Multiple clones, sites, soils and using traditional vinification – this is our aim. Called Katvis (catfish) in honour of the tenacious, adaptable & unconventional denizen of the deep. Vineyard – Trellised moderate yield sites located in decomposed Table Mountain sandstone & Bokkeveld shale over clay in Elgin, sandstone shales in the Langeberg above the Tradouw & old vine Pinot in red alluvials over limestone deposits in the Klein Karoo. All fruit was hand harvested at dawn. Quite possibly the most tempestuous vintage in the Cape – super low winter rainfall, early spring, hot summer, heat waves & erratic weather – resulted in small clusters of fruit, great concentration & very typical lithe ‘n aromatic Pinot.

Vinification – The three clones of Pinot Noir – 777, 115 & BK5 - were separately vinified prior to blending. The hand harvested fruit was destemmed & crushed into temperature controlled small open top cement fermenters, allowed a half a day or more of cold soaking, inoculated with Pinot specific yeasts, pigeaged by hand over the four to five day cold ferment, gently pressed into old 300L French barrels to finish fermentation & undergo malo-lactic. The BK5 was crushed into a stainless-steel red-fermenter, minimal pump-overs & only free-run juice taken to barrel. The wine was matured for 9 months prior to blending & bottled unfined, unfiltered. Only yeast & small amounts of sulphur are added during the process.

Wine – The most typical Pinot we’ve crafted thus far – bright red & ripe black cherry, rose hip, Turkish Delight, cranberry, bright spice, undertones of forest floor and musk all cloistered by ripe tannin, oak spice & savoury finish. Katvis pairs perfectly with grilled duck breasts, braised lamb shoulder, beef Wellington, coq au vin & other farm fare favourites, as well as soft fromage & charcuterie or simply sipped on its own. Best decanted & served lightly chilled. Cellaring will allow this pretty vintage to gain in complexity with time in bottle."