BELLINGHAM Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage 2020

Deep ruby with tints of purple on the rim. Liberal black cherry, ripe mulberry and raspberry confit aromas delivering a mouthful of plum pudding, smoked meat flavours and savoury hints of truffle, beautifully balanced with brushes of violet and winter spice oak integration on a long succulently fruited finish. Drinking well already, it promises to develop savoury richness, secondary intrigue and definitive smoothness with up to 10 years bottle maturation. A sumptuous wine that is tremendously versatile with a variety of gastronomy including venison, duck, lamb and beef dishes.

Welcome to Bellingham

The Bernard Series was named after Bernard Podlashuk, visionary co-founder of the Bellingham brand and maverick winemaker. Never quite satisfied to be just ordinary, he is recognised for his daring vision, sheer audacity and unabated drive that helped place South African wine on the map. The legend of his tenacity and innovative flair lives on through the Bernard series, Bellingham’s premium range of hand-crafted wines. The Bernard Pinotage vineyards are situated in South Africa’s Coolest climate growing regions, influenced by the nearby Atlantic Ocean sea breezes. After years of experimentation, it was found that the cool climate sites have better phenolic or tannin ripeness due to the longer and slower ripening process associated with cool climates. The grapes from these vineyards are concentrated and retain their natural acidity, producing wines that have bright red fruit, with a ripe silky tannin, yet elegant and fresh.

All Individual "Bernard" lots are harvested separately and made in the Bernard cellar where it is "hand made" with minimal intervention in a natural and authentic way. After hand picking in the early mornings, the berries were hand sorted, followed by fermentation in open top concrete tanks where hand punch downs take place every 2 – 3 hours for the first 2 days, thereafter followed by gentle pump overs until pressing. These Pinotage fermentations are generally quick, and we press after a maximum of 5 days on the grape skins. Careful management and tasting is done continually during this time to ensure that the tannin extraction is done as gently as possible, therefore ensuring the silky textural finish of the wine. After pressing, the wine was racked directly to barrels where it was left to complete MLF.

The wines underwent 2 rackings during the 14 month aging period in 40% New French oak barrels.