As I am writing this I am sitting in the coffee shop of my Hotel on the Durban beachfront. I have three private tastings planned for the evenings and I’m sure you know by now where I’ll be in the day. I have 3 Durban trips scheduled for Oct/Nov and one Joburg trip for the end of November. Let me know if you want to organize a private tasting for your friends/colleagues. I am racking in as many as possible before I head off for a 4-week break to Jongensfontein on the 8th of December.
The wine tastings are not the reason for my mail, however. I am releasing a new, exciting-super-cool-thick-structured wine called: 1ST EULOGY 2011. This is the first vintage of a 3-series burial service for a wine representing a single, very old vineyard in Botrivier, Walker Bay. In all probability the 50-year-old Tinta Barocca vineyard will be removed next year, making the 2013 vintage the last one. Tinta, known for the production of spectacular wines in Douro Portugal, are used in SA mainly for the production of our Port wines. But if you can get your hands on grapes from OLD Tinta vineyards, you might be able to produce super complex and structured dry red wines. Over the years the roots of these old vines went deep down in search of water to sustain them through the critical phases of ripening. Not only did they find water in the most obscure little cracks and crevices but they also accessed many minerals and nutrients, which gave them the power to produce excellence.
So the older the vineyard, the better the quality, but then again; the lower the yield. Making sustainable commercial farming with OLD vines very difficult. And here in lies the opportunity. If you can get your hands on the very limited supply of quality old vine grapes and are able to produce something really special, you might just find an adventurous bunch of supporters and create a future for a block of vines that was destined to become firewood. BUT as I said; at this stage the head of the 1ST EULOGY’s Tinta Barocca, is on the chopping block for 2013. Lets see if we can save him.
The wine sells for R130 a bottle. E-mail me with your order pieter@blankbottle.co.za and I will reply with an invoice. You can pay into my bank and I will deliver anywhere in SA. You are welcome to make up mixed cases of wine. You can also buy online with your credit card. Click on ‘buy now’ and follow the instructions. Delivery cost is R30 a case of 12 to Cape Town and surrounds. R90 a case of 12 anywhere else in SA. It takes 3 days for delivery when no one strikes. Any other questions; just reply to this mail.
All the best from a very hot and humid Durban.

E-mail: pieter@blankbottle.co.za
Telephone: +27 (0)82 872 8658


Please note

Due to the many small batches of wines we make, availability changes on a daily basis. Please email aneen@blankbottle.co.za if you’d like to order any of our wines or if you are looking for a specific wine, and she will reply with a list of wines now selling. If the wine you are looking for is sold out, we could suggest some alternative excitement and/or we could also put together a unique selection for you.

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