Jimmy 2020

Every once in a while you find a vineyard that is truly special. But for a small producer, it’s often impossible to buy the whole vineyard due to the size of the production, so you are forced to share. Jimmy is mainly Verdelho from a few rows of a really big vineyard.

The Story:

A couple of decades ago a guy called Polla Brand drove the first Suzuki Jimny into South Africa from Namibia. The car ended up with a family member on a farm in the Voor Paardeberg. 

Come winter, the other vehicles struggled in the mud and slippery clay but the Suzuki, with its short wheelbase, cruised through really difficult terrain. Immediately gaining respect. From then on, the farmer, his son and his grandson (the current farmer) only drives Suzuki 4x4’s on the farm. The current farmer also happens to be the Western Cape champion, racing in the Dunes along the West Coast of South Africa - with his little hyped-up supercharged Suzuki - hence the inspiration for the label.

Verdelho is a really interesting variety to farm with in South Africa. It loves heat and has this unique characteristic of maintaining high acid levels in really ripe conditions. This is a variety that you need to keep an eye on during harvest. It gains sugar at an immense rate with the challenge of picking it before it gets too ripe.

Where most other wineries add tartaric acid, we prefer having a very early-picked Verdelho, at a low alcohol and a beyond-massive acid in the winery. We make use of this as a blending component to add acid and freshness. And this is the true power of Verdelho. But I felt that it was time to show the consumer the real personality of the varietal.