2020 Creation Estate The Art of Pinot Noir

The wine lives up to its name: pure art in a glass. For Pinot Noir 'Art of Creation', not only vineyards are carefully selected, a selection is also made after vinification. Only the best barrels are used for the final blend. Traditional vinification with whole bunches, i.e. without destemming and crushing, applies to 40% of the harvest. This is particularly suitable for Pinot Noir as it extracts more colour, aromas and structure. After fermentation, the wine continues to mature for another year in oak barrels, 50% of which are new. The wine is lightly filtered (to lose as little flavor as possible) and then bottled. The wine is ready to drink, but can be kept for at least ten to fifteen years.

This is without a doubt the most South African Burgundian there can be and we dare to challenge that blindly 9 out of 10 people will judge this as a very expensive Burgundy. From the first sniff and sip you know that The Art of Pinot Noir is special and clearly comes from a cool climate. In the glass, the Art Of Piinot Noir from Creatio is light ruby red with aromas of rose petals, dark cherries, pepper and anise in the nose. Complex on the palate: lush layers of cherries and plums mingle with earthy flavors of mushrooms and spices. Delicious with a duck liver mousse with raspberries and thyme. Also delicious with confit de canard. The wine is certainly quite expensive, but this level can compete with many times more expensive top Burgundies and Chardonnays from Napa Valley. Only 3,00 bottles were made. Enjoy it for the next 10-15 years.

Awards:
Vintage 2019 - 97pt (Tim Atkin)
Vintage 2019 - 4.5* (Platter's)
Vintage 2020 - 5* (Platter's)

FACT: In the Tab: Appendix you will find the official fact sheet of this beautiful wine. We will send it to you automatically when you order this wine. The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see the discount if you choose Pickup on the checkout page. We are almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for address.

About Creation Estate

When Jean-Claude (JC) and Carolyn Martin took on the challenge of starting a winery in a remote corner of the Walker Bay Wine Region in 2002, it was quite exciting. Vines had never been planted here before, but JC and Carolyn - both descendants of well-known wine families - were determined and convinced of the area's potential. Together they founded Creation Estate in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Five years later, in 2007, the first harvest took place and they equipped the cellar with the best equipment from Germany, France and Switzerland. Since then they have been working hard. Not only with their quality wines, the tasting room has also made a name for itself.

Today, Creation Estate has 50 hectares of vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. JC and Carolyn's winemaking philosophy is based on “enhancing the beauty of nature.” It is primarily about the quality of the grapes, not about the tricks that can be performed in the cellar. “Winemaking is a delicate art that requires restraint to capture the nuances of its origin,” said JC Martin. The terroir is important at Creation Estate. Not surprising, because the combination of higher altitude vineyards and the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean creates a unique microclimate in Walker Bay. In addition, JC Martin works with wild yeast cells instead of commercially developed ones, read more about this on our news page.

In 2019, the municipality of Overstrand Hermanus in South Africa was awarded the status 'Creative City status for Gastronomy' by UNESCO! This is one of only 10 cities worldwide and the first on the African continent to receive this distinction. For Creation winery, and other many individuals and boutique producers from the region, this is a tribute to the contribution they make to achieving sustainable development goals.

About Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

Creation Estate is located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, a sub-area within the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. It is located about twenty kilometers from Hermanus, the coastal town on Walker Bay that is also known as the 'whaling capital' of South Africa. The Atlantic Ocean not only ensures that the whales enjoy floating around here, it also provides an ideal climate for wine growing. It is warm there, but it rarely gets warmer than thirty degrees in the growing season. This is due to the fresh sea breeze and the fact that the Creation Estate vineyards are slightly higher than most vineyards in the area. The grapes are given the opportunity to ripen optimally, but retain their fresh acidity thanks to the cool nights. The soil also plays an important role in this. The vineyards have a clay-derived slate soil called Bokkeveld. It prevents water stress and makes the vines less vigorous, which in turn contributes to the slow ripening of the grapes (due to the slow release of groundwater).

In short, Creation Estate has a unique terroir in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. They know how to translate this into full, but at the same time elegant wines with ripe fruit aromas, fresh acidity and beautiful minerality.