Tasting Notes
The name harks back to Pieter's first attempts at producing this Pinot, when he had a clear vision for the wine, and totally missed, and thus called it 2 clicks off! Now much closer to a "proper" Pinot in terms of aromatics, flavour profile and weight, Pieter's pretty confident they're now just 1 click off, hence the fantastic label. This is a very pretty Pinot with a heavenly red-frutied perfume: tiny wild strawberries muddled with spice, hint of cinnamon, pot pourri and cherry cola. It's a vineyard that Pieter has played a long game with and invested in hugely, employing one of SA's greatest viticulturists who also works with Eben Sadie, and the efforts are certainly beginning to speak.
More Info
The tale behind the name BLANKbottle is that when Pieter was starting out, he made a small parcel of Shiraz and was left with a few unlabelled cases. One day, a woman wanted to buy a wine – “Anything but Shiraz,” she told him. Pieter shrugged and sold her the unlabelled Shiraz, neglecting to mention the variety. A few weeks later she returned demanding more, saying it was the best thing she’d ever drunk. For Pieter, it was a lesson on the gap between what people think they like (or dislike) and what they actually like (or dislike). After that, he decided not to list the varieties on his labels. Every one of Pieter’s wines is a story, rather than a grape variety, and it’s the juice inside the bottle which reveals that story. He doesn’t own any vines, but instead scours South Africa’s winelands for top-quality fruit that has somehow slipped under the radar, now sourcing from nearly 70 sites. Some years he’ll make 20 wines, other years 35. With the benefit of anonymity, variety and regional identity take a back seat while parcel expression does the driving. These are some of South Africa’s most original wines, made by one of South Africa’s most original winemakers.