Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir, Elgin Valley

Lothian is a family estate in the Elgin Valley, South Africa's coolest growing region - a former protea farm on the banks of the Palmiet River, run by the Wilson family across three generations of Cape winemaking. They work with Richard Kershaw, one of only a handful of Masters of Wine making wine in the country, whose touch here is all about restraint - letting a cold-climate site speak rather than building power into the wine. The Pinot comes from a single small vineyard planted to two clones. It's destemmed and fermented naturally on wild yeast in open fermenters for around ten days, with the cap gently worked to draw colour and flavour without force. The wine then goes to French oak, a portion of it new, where it completes its malolactic and matures for eleven months before a light filtration. The aim throughout is delicacy over extraction. It pours light crimson, with fresh strawberry and red plum, spiced orange and a dusting of clove and cinnamon over a savoury, faintly cola-and-oatmeal depth. The palate is light to medium-bodied, juicy and bright, the tannins fine and powdery, the finish long. A genuinely cool-climate Pinot. Serve lightly chilled, around 14-16°C.