2019 Arendsig Inspirational Batch 8 Pinotage, Western Cape, South Africa

ABOUT THIS WINE

Made with minimal interference throughout the vinification. During fermentation natural yeasts are used with no enzymes. Maturation takes place in neutral vessels to bring through the unique vineyard characteristics, that’s specific to the site.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

After finishing high school in Robertson, Lourens van der Westhuizen enrolled at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to study agriculture. The course included a year and a half of studies at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch. It was at Elsenburg that he was exposed to vineyard practices and winemaking, which ignited his passion and love for what he can now call his own business and occupation. A custodian of the earth, he is blessed to farm, grow the grapes and turn his passion into wine. After he completed his studies, he travelled to America and worked in Santa Rosa, California, making up small parcels of wine with his hands-on approach. Several years later, he made the same trip through Burgundy and Champagne in France.

He was one of the more fortunate people in that he could return to his family farm as a fifth generation farmer. He decided to make it a challenge and became the first generation winemaker to make his own wine on this farm. The year 2004 was the beginning of new and better things. His dad, Frikkie van der Westhuizen, permitted him to select small parcels of grapes from his old Shiraz and Chardonnay vineyards. This gave him the opportunity to begin Arendsig Handcrafted wines. In the very same year, his dad gave him an untouched part of the farm—on the slopes (all virgin soil). He worked for four months to prepare these soils, as he knew this would be the future of Arendsig wines.

There was no soil but rocks! Our goal was to make single-vineyard wines from single vineyards of exceptional quality. His own wines are all from one specific block and are expressed by the terroir.