Saartjie Malbec 2022

Saartjie Single Vineyard Selection Malbec 2022

Tasting Notes
Hand-selected grapes from a north-west facing single block of Malbec — a mere 1 000 vines planted in well-drained Hutton and Oakleaf soils.

A beautiful purple hue. Dominant sour cherry, plum and violet notes on the nose. Intense dark fruit and spice on the palate, with balanced oak flavours complementing the wine. Beautifully balanced with a firm tannin structure, it can be enjoyed now or in a few years.

Winemaker
Arno Smith

Vineyard
North-west facing vineyards in Durbanville

Soil Type
Well-drained Hutton & Glenrosa soils

Vineyard Area
Small block — 0.39 hectares in extent, with a mere 1 000 vines

Trellis
Vertical shoot positioning (VSP) with two movable wires

Irrigation
Used sparingly, to supplement evaporative losses during grape ripening

Harvested
At optimum ripeness — two pickings, 12 February to 28 February

Degree Balling
Between 21.5 ˚B and 23.5 ˚B

Fermentation
Cold soaking on skins for two nights with repeated pump-overs to extract maximum colour and flavour in a non-alcoholic environment. After fermentation the wine was racked into 225 L French oak barrels — 10% new, the rest 2nd fill — for 12 months of barrel maturation.

Analysis
Alc: 12.92% | RS: 2.2 g/l | TA: 5.3 g/l | pH: 3.60

Same two things as the Petit Verdot sheet: the tasting note says Hutton and Oakleaf while Soil Type says Hutton & Glenrosa, and "early February" didn't fit pickings running 12–28 February, so I dropped it.