2-klicks off 2012

2 KLICKS OFF. Why? Because I was aiming my missile towards a goal and my aim was 2 clicks off... so I totally missed the target. Or so I thought at first. Hence the name.

You see. I tried to make the perfect Pinot Noir (I had in my mind). My very first Pinot. It started off with great ELGIN grapes growing on a little mountain about 10km inland from Kleinmond on the South Eastern side of South Africa. Cooler climate, rocky clayish soil. This being my first Pinot, I put about 30% of the grapes in a tank as whole bunches (Stems and all), took my shoes off, washed my feet( really) and gently foot stomped (squashing with my feet) the grapes until all the air filled gapes in between the whole berries were filled with juice. I then destemmed the balance of the grapes (removed the stems and crushed the berries) on top of that and filled the tank. After fermentation I left the wine on the skins a bit and it then went to barrel. During fermentation wine extracts tannin from the skins as well as from the stems. The tannin from the stems are a lot harsher than the ones from the skins. A sort of hard greenish tannin. Now my reason behind fermenting with stems was to get a wine with initially greener harder tannins, that would eventually develop into a wine that will age better and stay fresh for longer = increased agreeability one could say.

But then, at the time of bottling, this wine got its name. Missed my aim by 2 clicks.

So December 2013 we were on holiday and a winemaker friend and his family stopped by. Whenever we get together, he opens a bottle of wine without telling me what he had opened. I can then taste and give my honest feedback. It's then my turn and so we keep going  throughout the rest of the weekend. (opening by far too many bottles). We have 2 rules however. We are not allowed to open our own or the other one's wines. That night he gave me a glass. I smelled the wine and it was a no brainer - Pinot. I tasted it and then asked him if is's from SA or Europe. He said SA. My reply was that I love the wine and that who ever had made this wine made use of whole bunch fermentation, which I once tried it but totally over-did. And  that this guy or girl had got it spot on. The balance between fruit spicy oak and a fresh sense of minerality. The wine was still way too young but would increase in quality for a number of years to come.

At that point my friend paled slightly. He had broken one of our rules without realizing. So it turned out that I gave the owner of my Pinot vineyard 6 bottles of my Pinot and he then again gave my friend 2 bottles of the my Pinot. I was tasting my own wine. As you can imagine, I arrived home after that weekend and rushed to my warehouse. Got a bottle out and bammm. The once green fresh tannins over that year started to integrate into the wine.

2 KLICKS OFF spot on.