Crystallum Wines - Pinot Noir "Mabalel" W.O. Elandskloof 750ml 2023 (13.0% abv)

100% Pinot Noir, sourced from a single vineyard, ‘Kaaimansgat’ farm – meaning Crocodile’s lair
The site is 700m high and surrounded by dramatic mountains, with peaks that are often snow-capped in winter
Fermented using only native yeasts and this year with all fruit destemmed
The total time in tank was 29 days with a 14-day post-fermentation maceration
The wine was then transferred to barrel (20% new) where it remained for 11 months before bottling

only 4902 bottles!

95 WA "This wine stands out for its very delicate and elegant approach. The aromas are bright and floral overall, with violet and heritage rose. The Crystallum 2023 Elandskloof Mabalel Pinot Noir (with 4,902 wax-capsule bottles created) reveals primary tones of cassis, sweet peach and citrusy orange peel. This wine is slightly darker in tonality compared to the others in this series. In terms of winemaking, the Mabalel sees all destemmed fruit, whereas the other wines include a percentage of whole cluster.

"this has an expressive bouquet with scents of Morello cherry, cranberry and hints of marmalade, all very seductive and well-defined. The palate is neatly balanced with fine tannins. It's a little more peppery than the Cuvée Cinema, revealing hints of bay leaf and white pepper toward the fine finish. This Pinot Noir should drink well for a decade or more.

94 JS "Light toast, earth and charred-bark aromas mingle with the red berry fruit. It's medium-bodied, sleek and full of flavor with expressive, very pinot-like porcini and earth undertones lingering. Delicious already but can hold."

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Crystallum wines is a small, family run and privately owned winery based in the Walker Bay region of South Africa.

"We seek to produce classic wines in a new world context that reflect a traditional, age-old way of working coupled with the new world vineyards which we source our fruit from. The only varieties that we work with are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with multi vineyard blends and single vineyard wines making up the collection."

The brothers are the third generation of Finlayson winemakers and the sons of the man who pioneered Pinot Noir making in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley. Andrew is an Architect by training and Peter-Allan studied philosophy and economics at the University of Stellenbosch. It did not however, take long for the lure of wine to pull them back into the cellar.

The company was started in 2007 with 4134 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc produced. The 2008 vintage saw the introduction of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Crystallum is now exclusively producing these Burgundian varieties.

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