Palomino & the Botanical Mystery of Field Blends | FRAM Carmelina White Blend NV | No.324

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Piket-Bo-Berg The new Western frontier
I have gushed aplenty before about my excitement over the emerging Piket-Bo-Berg ward at the very Northern Limits of the Swartland. But perhaps what I haven’t made clear is that my excitement hinges not soley on the remarkable set of climatic conditions that it appears to possess…[- ridiculous elevations of up to 900m ASL;][- a long dry ripening seasson with notably low disease pressure; ][- supremely marked diurnal range;]but ALSO the significant HUMAN element that has placed itself at the heart of these developments.
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The Frontier demands contrarians
Johan Stompie Meyer was the first vigneron to stake his claim on the plateau, with his purchase of what would become Platteklip vineyards. His wildly curious nature - as well as his none-toot-tenuous connection to controversy - has seen him plant a over a dozen cultivars, “just to see what would work”, which included Pinot Noir - something that “everyone told [him] he was crazy to plant. And so it would seem that the possibilities for this little zone appear limitless - mostly because Stompie carries a certain anatagonism to the very idea of limits.
-Even pioneers need friends
Joining Stompie up on this remote plateau is winemaker Thinus Kruger - the mastermind behind today’s delightfully peculiar Carmelina White Blend. While one gets the sense that reclusive Thinus Kruger chose the land more for it’s isolation than anything else, one can’t help but get excited to realise that Piket-Bo-Berg has now attracted TWO vignerons who are as keen to make statements as they are to make wine. Watch this space very closely.
If you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you'll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs:
TASTING NOTES
👃🏼 A moderately generous vanguard with all the healthy cues that we have something rambunctious on our hands. The fresh fruit aromas boast apricot fruit, apple cider, a touch of pickled ginger, leesy raw sourdough, and a lovely fresh hint of orange zest.
👄 On first entry, the palate is all about the stone fruit. A lovely wave of delightfully concentrated peach fruit pops up, with an impressively chewy texture. Following on from that there is also some lovely yellow apple, pithy citrus, and zesty essential oils on the tail end.
TECHNICAL SPECS
🔬 Interplanted vineyard, 60years old, mostly Palomino + bits of Chenel and Hanepoot.
Natural fermentation in a combination of stainless steel, small French and large Austrian oak. 26% 2021 - 12 months in small oak and then blended into 2022 in large oak. 74% 2022 - 12 months in large oak together with the 2021 portion.
Alc: 12.0 % | Total acid: 5.1g/l | pH: 3.49 | Residual sugar: 2.4 g/l
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