Paul Cluver Estate - Pinot Noir 2018
Pairing Suggestions
Paul Cluver Estate - Pinot Noir 2018 (89 TSW)
You must have noticed it already - It's International Pinot Noir Day.
You may have already noticed that I don't drink much Pinot Noir, but sometimes it's just nice to drink a wine with less tannins and a fruity character. For example in summmer...light chilled
Back to this wine. A very well made Pinot Noir from the cool-climate Elgin (South-Africa) region.
This Pinot Noir is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes. After fermentation, the wine was transferred to French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place. (27% new wood, the rest 2nd, 3rd and 4th use.) The aging in oak lasted 12 months, on lees for the entire period.
My tasting notes:
In the glass a bright rusty ruby red color.
On the medium(+) nose aromas of raspberries, strawberry jam and red berries with hints of smoke, earth, chocolate, spices and cedar.
On the palate dry, medium bodied with medium(+) acidity and medium(-) silky tannins. After giving the wine some air flavours of red currants, cranberries, wet leaves and chocolate appear ending with a medium length final. Curious how this one will be over 3/5 years.
This Pinot Noir goes well with poultry, game dishes, poultry and veal chops.
For years, Paul Cluver has been one of the top 10 in South Africa. Paul Cluver Sr. first planted vineyards in this cool area of Elgin, located on the coast, where apple trees and mist still fill the valley. Winemaker Andries Burger and Paul Cluver Jr are both obsessed with Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Bourgogne and then Elgin is one of the best regions to make this high quality. The white wines are very pure and have tension that we mainly encounter in the Old World. The Pinot Noir is one of the best and most affordable examples available from this beautiful country right now. In 2014, the Sauvignon Blanc was named 'World's Best Sauvignon Blanc under 15lbs' at the World Wine Awards!
Dutch importer: @pallaswines