Pinot Noir, Ignis, Hemel en Aarde, 2023
Ignis 2023 is silky and sweet yet incredibly precise, offering a bit more mid-palate intensity, less flattering than the Vrede but complex with saline notes, warm spices, tea, and a stunning, long finish. Where Vrede is 50% clay and 50% shale, the 2.4ha Ignis site is cluttered with round pebbles on the surface with primarily decomposed granite underlying. Situated at 225m elevation in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, it is (warm) north facing but more exposed to the wind. It has been farmed organically since 2015. Aged for a year in 25% new French oak.
critic reviews
In the bottle with the black wax capsule, the Storm 2023 Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Pinot Noir Ignis opens to smoky campfire ash and savory undertones layered over ripe yet vibrant fruit. The wine feels bright and punchy despite its sultry aromatic profile, finishing with admirable balance and composure. It sees 100% whole-bunch fermentation with cold maceration and native ferments, completes malolactic fermentation in barrel and matures 12 months in French oak, with 28% new oak. The fruit comes from a gentle north-facing slope in the Upper Valley rooted in decomposed granite and shale, soils that contribute both savory complexity and structural lift in this cool-climate pocket of the Cape. Production is 9,100 bottles.
The 2023 Pinot Noir Ignis was picked a week later than the Vrede on the day that the heavens opened. Fortunately, the fruit was safely in the vat by that time. This has another lovely bouquet that has a tad more intensity than the Vrede cuvée. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity. Again, there is just a touch of soy that infuses the red fruit, gentle grip, quite linear in style with a classically-styled, slightly sour cherry finish. Very fine.