A special, very limited release wine was made by Meerendal Wine Estate recently – and of one of the oldest vines in South Africa.
The age of the very special single row of old vines of muscat d’ alexandria, situated next to the cellar, is estimated to be close to 90 years – this is according to photos in the archives in Cape Town, says Bennie Howard, marketing manager at Meerendal Wine Estate.
Handpress
“Planted in 1936, SA Wine Information Service (Sawis) is currently finalising it for certification, after which we will register the vines with the Old Vine Project,” he says.
“There are 25 vines and Rosa Kruger from the Old Vines Project assisted last year to prune them to perfection. And the vines performed accordingly to give a good harvest this year!” Howard says.
The grapes were protected with bird netting from visitors and birds, and the bunches were picked three weeks ago and dried on straw in order to make a straw wine from these grapes.
“A small handpress was used to very gently press all the juice from this small harvest of just a few hundred kilogrammes during the past week,” he says.
The juice was inoculated with a special yeast and cooled down to 14 °C. Slow fermentation is now taking place due to the richness of the juice. It will take at least two weeks for the fermentation to end naturally, according to Howard.
“The wine will be kept on the lees at least four to six months before bottling. The wine will be a very limited release,” he says.
The Heritage Block Pinotage
Meerendal was one of the first five producers to join the Old Vine Project when it was formally started in 2016. The project aims to protect and preserve vines older than 35 years.
The wine estate joined the project with its The Heritage Block Pinotage, a single vineyard which was planted 68 years ago in 1955 – then the oldest vineyard in the Wine of Origin Cape Town district, which includes Durbanville ward. The first wine made from this single vineyard was in 2005, when the vineyard was 50 years old. Meerendal’s winemaking heritage goes back to 1702, when the farm was founded. Their first wine was bottled in 1969, a shiraz and a pinotage.
