BLANKbottle 1 Click off 2021

“I started with a clear vision for this wine – only to miss it completely… hence the original name of the wine: 2-CLICKS-OFF. The ‘13 and ‘14 vintages came and went – either down the drain or to a blend. The vineyard then changed ownership and I was out. Lost the vineyard. It happens from time to time. I’m a firm believer in letting things takes its natural course but this time round it was different. I had the conviction that the vineyard was mine to make wine of. It just needed to mature a bit. So I decided to fight for it. Like back in the day when my now wife dated one of my friends…

I didn’t give up and in harvest 2016 I received the long-awaited phone call: do I still want the Pinot? Being so late in the season, the grapes were over-ripe and the vineyard was in a neglected state. But I knew that it was my chance to get my foot back in the door.

After harvest, when the dust had settled, we sat down and had a chat. I immediately sensed a change of heart. André van Wyk, the now fully-committed sole owner, had a vision but wasn’t sure how to go about it. He was also aiming for a classic Pinot. So I took my cue from George Clooney in the OCEAN-8 movie: I needed a team. I approached a guy called Jaco Engelbrecht of Visual Viticulture – an intensely articulated and passionate guy. I introduced Jaco and Andre and immediately there was the proverbial magic in the air. The game was on!” – Winemaker’s notes