The MISFIT 2012

An elegant and fresh wine made from 100% Swartland Carignan.

The Story:

I made the first Misfit in 2009 - 100% Carignan from the Swartland. It was picked extremely ripe and we ended up with an alcohol of 15%. Sweet, rich fruit dominated the flavour profile. After initial success with a wine it typically takes me a few years to secure the grapes on a yearly basis. So then, in 2012, I had my second chance to produce The MISFIT. We had extreme heat waves early summer (subsequently losing a lot of the crop due to sunburn) and the grapes reached optimal ripeness earlier with lower sugars. The result is a 13% alcohol wine - lighter in style and more elegant. I fermented with 30 percent whole bunches (not removing the stems and not crushing the berries). This had a huge influence on the wine. It gave the wine a fresh coolness. The wine aged for a year in larger 700l old French oak barrels enabling the fruit of the wine to dominate the subtle oak. It needs about three years to reach optimum drinkability.