Our organic Sauvignon Blanc Label has won a Bronze award, in the Label Design Awards run by Christian Eedes at WineMag.co.za
A special thanks to the team at 
Whitespace Creative, our design company who were so creative in the design.
Have you seen the hidden image in the R of Ridge ? Also designed by Whitespace Creative
Had a great lunch at the Glass House, Kew on Monday, with Brian Smith, a now-biodynamic winegrower in Elgin, South Africa. I first met Brian and his wife Marion at the same restaurant just over a year ago (so my blog tells me), and they’ve now got to the point where they have their first Pinot Noir bottled. Plans are afoot to produce a Chardonnay-based MCC (sparkling wine), but this won’t be ready for a while.
It’s interesting that Brian and Marion have adopted biodynamics so enthusiastically, to the point that they are now certified fully. Marion has been the driver behind this: Brian says that initially he’d have been quite happy to spray chemicals everywhere, but now he has converted too. They now have a Percheron horse that he’s very proud of, as well as 11 cows and some sheep. ‘The Percheron is the most beautiful horse,’ says Brian. ‘It’s 16 1/2 hand, and weighs 1100 kg.’
‘The tough thing is to get organic certification. Once you get this you are part of the way there,’ says Brian. ‘The soil on the farm was tested for chemicals to give the vines the best start.’ He adds, ‘when you think of all the horrible things farmers used to use, it’s a wonder that the land is living at all.’
Brian and Marion are gaining confidence. For example, with the Sauvignon, the 2012 is the first where they felt able to do 100% natural ferment. In the previous vintages they did the small tanks natural, and the large inoculated, for safety reasons. Now they leave the wine on lees until December (the harvest is early March). In 2012 Brian says he made 90% of the wine (with help from Niels Verberg); in 2013 he made 100%.
Lovely aromatics: expressive, bright, beautiful fruit – white peach, pear, citrus with subtle green notes. The palate is so well balanced with ripe fruit and lovely weight and precision. There’s real presence here, a proper Sauvignon [92/100]
Brian says that he planted Pinot Noir because he’s ‘a red wine drinker trapped on a white wine farm.’ The 2012, first release, won’t be out for a while, but it’s looking very promising.
Natural ferment (done on the spur of the moment when the destemmed grapes were in the tank), 10 months in oak (20% new, the rest very old). This is South Africa’s only organic Pinot. There’s a bit of spice from the new oak but the dominant theme is the lovely pure, focused red cherry and berry fruit. Amazing finesse and purity. Still primary with potential for development [92/100]
On the 6th and 7th of April Elgin Ridge, as part of the Elegantly Elgin Open Wine Weekend, is offering you an unique opportunity to taste and pre order the first organic Pinot Noir in South Africa. The wine has been produced to strict European Organic Standards.
Bunches were 100% de-stemmed, with natural fermentation, and 10 months in 20% new French Oak.
Only 1400 Bottles of this unique wine were produced.
The colour is bright medium to dark red with red summer fruits and hints of warm spices, cinnamon and cloves on the nose
The palate is fruit forward on entry, cherries and raspberries with a slight herbal note on mid-palate with a long finish. The tannins are balanced and approachable.
Alcohol 13.5%, Sugar 2.2 g/l, PH 3.6, TA 5.0 g/l, Free SO2 28, Total SO2 61
Cellar Price R250.00 inc VAT
Proud winemakers, Niels Verburg and Brian Smith,
holding the first South African organic pinot noir.
Marion and Brian
Twitter @ElginRidgeWines