The first ever troop to proudly display the ever-so-simple original gangster BLANKBOTTLE badge of identity, was a wine called 343. The label was a simple, gray font backed by a humble, self adhesive small sticker.
In those early foundation-laying years of BLANKBOTTLE we played around with Merlot quite a bit. I then took a 10 year Merlot sabbatical, but the varietal’s been bugging me throughout. I like the power but then… I do like finesse. Not easy to find in South Africa. In 2020 the penny finally dropped. I realized that whenever I liked one, it came from a vineyard that grows in weathered granitic soil.
It is not as if you can taste the weathered granite in the wine. Weathered granite is lighter soil with very little clay content – therefore well-drained, warmer marginal soil which results in harsher growing conditions. Conditions the farmer needs to manage carefully – and THAT is what you taste in the wine: a coalition of soil and viticulture.
In 2020 I found it. High on the Helderberg, on the border of Somerset West – full-on weathered granite. This is the 2021 vintage of BLANKBOTTLE ISA-42 – a solid, structured and serious expression.
I decided to go with the original packaging! The little black number!