Tasting Notes
One of Pieter's most unusual cuvees, so-named for the Kortpad Kaaptoe, or cut through road close to the vineyard that Pieter took when having to rush back to Cape Town one day. With its bling ACDC style label, this wine is as stand out as its label. Ripe pineapple, tangerine, stem ginger and spice with a pithy, lightly grippy palate and slivers of bitter sweet orange peel, apricot and long stoney finish. Great acidity keeps it all in check. Drink with coronation chicken (trust us), tandoori dishes or a Persian feast of spiced lamb, stuffed aubergine and jewelled tahdig.
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.