Saint RAND 2025

The return of our Pinotage - SAINT RAND 2025. 

These raised bush vines grow on the Onder-Rustenberg farm in Firgrove on the outskirts of Somerset West in weathered, well-drained and warm granitic soil. The grapes were 100% destemmed with a very quick (not even a week on the skins!) fermentation. 

You see, when you chew a Pinotage berry skin, the tannins are hectic! Chunky and raw. And the higher the alcohol during fermentation, the more the alcohol extracts tannins. The solution: a quick fermentation on the skins, and pressed before any bitter tannins are extracted.

Simple? Maybe. Smooth-sailing? Nope. This stubborn South African thoroughbred has been rubbing me the wrong way for wayyyy too long (read below for the full, unfiltered version), so presenting you with this vintage feels like a personal win.

The Story:

It’s been a mission. For 8 long years.

Saint Rand 2018 and 2019 were produced from a bush-vine Pinotage growing in Darling, on the West Coast. As the wine gained momentum, I was convinced I was onto something special. Until the farm got sold and the new owner uprooted the vineyard. Just like that - gone.

I then discovered an old Pinotage bush-vine vineyard planted in weathered sandstone on the Piekenierskloof mountain range (3.5 hours' drive up the West Coast). For 2 consecutive years we gave it our all. But both years lacked finesse and each year the wine did not pass our internal quality control tasting. So we never bottled anything.

Next up (2021 and 2022) was this beautiful, traditional, trellised vineyard planted in a dry river bed on the lower slopes of the Matroosberg mountain catchment area. Both these vintages were too light in my opinion. Again, no bottling.

And then we moved a bit closer to home: the Helderberg, Stellenbosch. We found a bit of hope and the first vintage made it through all the quality hoops and straight to bottle. Until the new owner uprooted the vineyard. Bam.

With my tail between my legs, I was left broken and defeated by how our only local grape was treating me, so I decided to call it a day. 

And then my phone rang: it was Francois, my Boland Landbou boarding school roommate (and vineyard consultant). In Firgrove, about 100 metres from my winery is a block of raised, bush-vine Pinotage - a vineyard I must’ve driven past at least a thousand times... Francois was looking to find a new buyer for the grapes. So I decided to give it one more go. And here you have it: Saint Rand 2025 - a wine I am deeply happy with!

The resemblance to the Brazilian novel "The Alchemist" where the protagonist travels far, only to discover that the treasure has been within reach all this time, is not lost on me. Right under my nose.