Bellevue Estate Cinsault
Once locally known as Hermitage, Cinsaut is the workhouse grape that became the backbone of South Africa’s greatest ‘Cabernet’ blends from the mid-1900s. Fresh and perfumed, this is our ultimate summer red, best served chilled.
TASTING NOTE
This medium-bodied wine charms with flavours of raspberry, strawberry, sour cherry and even a little beetroot. Its silky tannin structure and refreshing finish make it the ultimate summer drink, best served slightly chilled and recommended with carpaccio or lightly seared tuna
IN THE VINEYARD
From a bush-vine vineyard planted between 1994 and 1996, partly drip-irrigated.
IN THE CELLAR
After pressing, the juice was inoculated immediately. Fermentation took place for about four days, with pump-overs three times daily. After completing malolactic fermentation in tank, the wine was kept on the lees for further development. The wine was aged in French and American oak barrels.
Pinotage was cultivated by Prof A.I. Perold around 1925 when he crossed Cinsault and Pinot noir. The first Pinotage cuttings made their way onto Bellevue soil in the early 1950’s when P.K. Morkel was attempting to obtain Gamay Noir for planting. He was not able to find the cultivar he was looking for and approached the Agricultural College at Elsenburg.
He was advised to try the newly developed variety, called Pinotage. At that stage, there were no commercial plantings of this variety, only experimental vines cultivated by the college. In 1953, together with Paul Sauer from Kanonkop, P.K. Morkel was one of the first few farmers to plant Pinotage on a commercial scale. His bold step paid off, since Bellevue’s Pinotage was awarded the Genl. Smuts Trophy in 1959, being the best young wine on the Cape Wine Show.
To salute the vision and bravery of P.K. Morkel, Bellevue takes utmost care of the 1953 Pinotage block which is still in production. It remains the pride and joy of Bellevue and a very special wine is made from this block, called Bellevue Heritage Pinotage.
To find out more about our full range of Bellevue Wines, click here to go to our web page
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Bellevue Estate Cinsault
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