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Pinot Noir on Clay Soils, Catherine Marshall Wines

Catherine Marshall Wines
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Technical Analysis
Alcohol
13.5
Residual sugar
2.9
pH
3.62
Acidity
5.0
Download Specification Sheet Download Full Size Images
Purity, vibrancy and harmonious balance result from the careful selection and blending of specific clones grown on clay soils in the cool Elgin Valley.
Tasting note

Layered and textured truffle savouriness and earthy forest floor interwoven with concentrated black cherry compote harmoniously supported by mineral textured tannins.

Origin
South Africa
Variety
Pinot Noir
Malolactic Fermentation
Yes
Bottle Size
75cl
Vegetarian
Yes
Winemaker
Cathy Marshall
Closure
Cork
Region
Elgin
Vegan
Yes

Vinification details

Bunches were de-stemmed with some crushing and berries were hand sorted at the crusher. The whole berry fraction was about 50% and cold soaked for two days in 500kg batches before yeast activity began. Fermentation was in open top vats where spontaneous fermentation and some inoculated commercial Pinot yeast culture was induced. Juice and skins were punched down (pigeage) and turned daily to control even heat distribution between the skin cap on top and must juice below. Tannin and flavour extractions from the skins were carefully monitored at that stage. Once fermentation was completed, the bins were tasted and selected on tannin and flavour attributes and manually pressed in an 800kg capacity stainless steel basket press. The bin combinations selected were kept as separate fractions to create as many blending profiles as possible for the final assemblage. The secondary Malo-lactic fermentation was completed in 225 Litre oak casks where, once all the malic acid has converted to lactic acid, was racked off the solid lees (dead yeast cells and solids) and further matured for 11 months in a combination of new, second, third and fourth filled Burgundy coopered casks. Once maturation was completed, each barrel was assessed for premium status and the resultant blend of the chosen barrels were assembled and lightly filtered to bottle.

Tasting video

With owner and winemaker Cathy Marshall.

Technical Analysis
Alcohol
13.0
Residual sugar
2.6
pH
3.51
Acidity
5.3
Download Specification Sheet Download Full Size Images
Purity, vibrancy and harmonious balance result from the careful selection and blending of specific clones grown on clay soils in the cool Elgin Valley.
Tasting note

Layered and textured truffle savouriness and earthy forest floor interwoven with concentrated black cherry compote harmoniously supported by mineral textured tannins.

Origin
South Africa
Variety
Pinot Noir
Malolactic Fermentation
Yes
Bottle Size
75cl
Vegetarian
Yes
Winemaker
Cathy Marshall
Closure
Cork
Region
Cape South Coast
Vegan
Yes

Vinification details

Bunches were de-stemmed with some crushing and berries were hand sorted at the crusher. The whole berry fraction was about 50% and cold soaked for two days in 500kg batches before yeast activity began. Fermentation was in open top vats where spontaneous fermentation and some inoculated commercial Pinot yeast culture was induced. Juice and skins were punched down (pigeage) and turned daily to control even heat distribution between the skin cap on top and must juice below. Tannin and flavour extractions from the skins were carefully monitored at that stage. Once fermentation was completed, the bins were tasted and selected on tannin and flavour attributes and manually pressed in an 800kg capacity stainless steel basket press. The bin combinations selected were kept as separate fractions to create as many blending profiles as possible for the final assemblage. The secondary Malo-lactic fermentation was completed in 225 Litre oak casks where, once all the malic acid has converted to lactic acid, was racked off the solid lees (dead yeast cells and solids) and further matured for 11 months in a combination of new, second, third and fourth filled Burgundy coopered casks. Once maturation was completed, each barrel was assessed for premium status and the resultant blend of the chosen barrels were assembled and lightly filtered to bottle.

Tasting video

With owner and winemaker Cathy Marshall.

Technical Analysis
Alcohol
13.5
Residual sugar
2.6
pH
3.60
Acidity
5.1
Download Specification Sheet Download Full Size Images
Purity, vibrancy and harmonious balance result from the careful selection and blending of specific clones grown on clay soils in the cool Elgin Valley.
Tasting note

Layered and textured truffle savouriness and earthy forest floor interwoven with concentrated black cherry compote harmoniously supported by mineral textured tannins

Origin
South Africa
Variety
Pinot Noir
Malolactic Fermentation
Yes
Bottle Size
75cl
Vegetarian
Yes
Winemaker
Catherine Marshall
Closure
Cork
Region
Elgin
Vegan
Yes

Vinification details

Bunches were de-stemmed with some crushing and berries were hand sorted at the crusher. The whole berry fraction was about 50% and cold soaked for two days in 500kg batches before yeast activity began. Fermentation was in open top vats where spontaneous fermentation and some inoculated commercial Pinot yeast culture was induced. Juice and skins were punched down (pigeage) and turned daily to control even heat distribution between the skin cap on top and must juice below. Tannin and flavour extractions from the skins were carefully monitored at that stage. Once fermentation was completed, the bins were tasted and selected on tannin and flavour attributes and manually pressed in an 800kg capacity stainless steel basket press. The bin combinations selected were kept as separate fractions to create as many blending profiles as possible for the final assemblage. The secondary Malo-lactic fermentation was completed in 225 Litre oak casks where, once all the malic acid has converted to lactic acid, was racked off the solid lees (dead yeast cells and solids) and further matured for 11 months in a combination of new, second, third and fourth filled Burgundy coopered casks. Once maturation was completed, each barrel was assessed for premium status and the resultant blend of the chosen barrels were assembled and lightly filtered to bottle.

Tasting video

With owner and winemaker Cathy Marshall.

Technical Analysis
Alcohol
13.5
Residual sugar
2.9
pH
3.62
Acidity
5.0
Download Specification Sheet Download Full Size Images
Purity, vibrancy and harmonious balance result from the careful selection and blending of specific clones grown on clay soils in the cool Elgin Valley.
Tasting note

Layered and textured truffle savouriness and earthy forest floor characters are interwoven with concentrated black cherry compote and harmoniously supported by mineral tannins. Although the wine is approachable in its primary stage with fresh cherry and red berry components evident at youth, the wine will age for at least 10 years where primary components will evolve to tertiary forest floor, truffle, earthy and savoury notes that are typical in great Burgundy examples.

Origin
South Africa
Variety
Pinot Noir
Malolactic Fermentation
Yes
Bottle Size
75cl
Vegetarian
Yes
Winemaker
Catherine Marshall
Closure
Cork
Region
Elgin
Vegan
Yes

Vinification details

Bunches were de-stemmed with some crushing and berries hand sorted at the crusher. The whole berry fraction amounted to about 50% and was cold soaked for two days in 500kg batches before yeast activity began. Fermentation was in open top vats – some was spontaneous, while other batches were inoculated with a Pinot yeast culture. Juice and skin were punched down and turned daily to control even heat distribution between the skin cap on top and must juice below. Tannin and flavour extractions from the skins were carefully monitored at this stage.

Once fermentation was completed, the bins were tasted and selected on tannin and flavour attributes and manually pressed in an 800kg capacity stainless steel basket press. The bin combinations selected were kept as separate fractions to create as many blending profiles as possible for the final assemblage. The secondary malolactic fermentation was completed in 225 and 300L oak casks where, once all the malic acid had converted to lactic acid, it was racked off the solid lees and further matured for 11 months in a combination of new, second-, third- and fourth-filled Burgundy coopered casks.

Once maturation was complete, each barrel was assessed and the resultant blend of the chosen barrels were assembled and lightly filtered to bottle.

Tasting video

With owner and winemaker Cathy Marshall.

Technical Analysis
Alcohol
13.5
Residual sugar
2.9
pH
3.62
Acidity
5.0
Download Specification Sheet Download Full Size Images
Purity, vibrancy and harmonious balance result from the careful selection and blending of specific clones grown on clay soils in the cool Elgin Valley.
Tasting note

Layered and textured truffle savouriness and earthy forest floor characters are interwoven with concentrated black cherry compote and harmoniously supported by mineral tannins. Although the wine is approachable in its primary stage with fresh cherry and red berry components evident at youth, the wine will age for at least 10 years where primary components will evolve to tertiary forest floor, truffle, earthy and savoury notes that are typical in great Burgundy examples.

Origin
South Africa
Variety
Pinot Noir
Malolactic Fermentation
Yes
Bottle Size
75cl
Vegetarian
Yes
Winemaker
Catherine Marshall
Closure
Cork
Region
Elgin
Vegan
Yes

Vintage conditions

2018 was another long, dry growing season, like 2015, 2016 and 2017 with more extreme drought conditions and severe water restrictions in place as dams were critically low throughout the year.

Vinification details

Bunches were de-stemmed with some crushing and berries hand sorted at the crusher. The whole berry fraction amounted to about 50% and was cold soaked for two days in 500kg batches before yeast activity began. Fermentation was in open top vats – some was spontaneous, while other batches were inoculated with a Pinot yeast culture. Juice and skin were punched down and turned daily to control even heat distribution between the skin cap on top and must juice below. Tannin and flavour extractions from the skins were carefully monitored at this stage.

Once fermentation was completed, the bins were tasted and selected on tannin and flavour attributes and manually pressed in an 800kg capacity stainless steel basket press. The bin combinations selected were kept as separate fractions to create as many blending profiles as possible for the final assemblage. The secondary malolactic fermentation was completed in 225 and 300L oak casks where, once all the malic acid had converted to lactic acid, it was racked off the solid lees and further matured for 11 months in a combination of new, second-, third- and fourth-filled Burgundy coopered casks.

Once maturation was complete, each barrel was assessed and the resultant blend of the chosen barrels were assembled and lightly filtered to bottle.

 

Technical Analysis
Alcohol
13.5
Residual sugar
2.7
pH
3.58
Acidity
5.0
Download Specification Sheet Download Full Size Images
Purity, vibrancy and harmonious balance result from the careful selection and blending of specific clones grown on clay soils in the cool Elgin Valley.
Tasting note

Layered and textured truffle savouriness and earthy forest floor characters are interwoven with concentrated black cherry compote and harmoniously supported by mineral tannins. Although the wine is approachable in its primary stage with fresh cherry and red berry components evident at youth, the wine will age for at least 10 years where primary components will evolve to tertiary forest floor, truffle, earthy and savoury notes that are typical in great Burgundy examples.

Origin
South Africa
Variety
Pinot Noir
Malolactic Fermentation
Yes
Bottle Size
75cl
Vegetarian
Yes
Winemaker
Catherine Marshall
Closure
Cork
Region
Elgin
Vegan
Yes

Vinification details

Bunches were de-stemmed without crushing and berries hand sorted at the crusher. The whole berry fraction amounted to about 80% and was soaked overnight in 500kg batches before yeast activity began where colour and some tannin extraction occurred. Fermentation was in open top bins and was either spontaneous or some batches were inoculated with a culture, depending on site – soil and style elements. Juice and skin were punched down and turned daily to control even heat distribution between the skin cap on top and must juice below. Tannin and flavour extractions from the skins were carefully monitored at this stage; the process controlled by hand with no pump or mechanical intervention which is slow and labour intensive but enables maximum control and focus on each 500kg batch.

Once fermentation was completed, the bins were tasted and selected on tannin and flavour attributes and manually pressed in an 800kg capacity stainless steel basket press. The bin combinations selected were kept as separate fractions to create as many blending profiles as possible for the final assemblage. The secondary malo-lactic fermentation was completed in 225L oak casks where, once all the malic acid had converted to lactic acid, it was racked off the solid lees and further matured for 9 to 12 months in a combination of new, second-, third- and fourth-filled Burgundy coopered casks.

The approach to chemical additions and mechanical intervention is kept to the absolute minimum so that the natural integrity of the variety is respected and expressed. Once maturation was completed, each barrel was assessed and the resultant blend of the chosen barrels were assembled in a stainless steel tank and then lightly filtered to bottle.