Ataraxia Serenity 2019 Hemel-en-Aarde

Pinotage 53%; Cinsaut 25%; Pinot Noir 22%

Temperatures were moderate in the final months before harvest despite the unusually dry circumstances that persisted for the majority of the growing season. This wine's significant strength and length are complemented by excellent poise and finesse thanks to the smaller berries that these dry conditions led to.

In order to produce a wine style that charms and seduces one because it accurately and authentically captures the essence of these specific vineyard areas, fruit was collected from carefully chosen vineyard sites. Three grape varieties—Pinot noir, Cinsault, and cool-climate Pinotage—are seamlessly combined to create it (a family tree of the two parent varietals and progeny). The focus of this combination is solely on style rather than cultivar makeup, though. Ultimately, cultivars are merely vehicles to express terroir and not the expression of a wine itself.

The three cultivars were handpicked, sorted and crushed into open fermenters. They each underwent cold maceration on their skins for seven to ten days before fermentation commenced. At completion, each batch was pressed off separately to barrel where malolactic fermentation took place. Finally, maturation followed in tight-grain French oak barriques, 20% of which were new, for a period of 11 months. Then the wine was blended and bottled in January 2019.