2021 Kara-Tara Pinot Noir Western Cape

Kara Tara is a joint venture between José Condé of Stark-Condé and rising star winemaker Rüdger Van Wyk. Van Wyk named the project after a river that runs through the small town where he grew up. His approach is straight-forward: craft pinot noir and chardonnay that demonstrates the beauty of his home land. The grapes for this wine are hand-picked from vineyards in Elgin, the Overberg and Stellenbosch. The grapes from Elgin add a balancing component of fresh, zesty acidity. The Overberg vineyard has Tafelberg Sandstone, whose stony soils contribute a flinty minerality. The Stellenbosch vineyard is in close proximity to the ocean. Its cooling winds add a saline quality to the final wine. The grapes were hand-picked into small lug-boxes for transport to the winery. Half of the grapes were put into open-top fermenters and given hand punch-downs and the other half in closed tanks done with regular pump-overs. About 20% of the wine was whole-cluster fermented. After primary fermentation, the wine was basket-pressed and racked for malolactic fermentation and subsequent French oak barrel maturation (10% new). And voila! A lovely pinot noir to pair with just about anything.