The new Craven Pinot Gris and Cinsaut wines are now available to order!
Mick and Jeanine Craven specialise in single vineyard Stellenbosch wines, where they “let the grapes do the talking”.
The Cravens are the pioneers of skin contact Pinot Gris in South Africa. It is starting to be seen as one of the icon wines of “New Stellenbosch”.
For the first time both of these wines have been raised 100% in concrete which adds tightness and structure. We are loving this very subtle change in the palate and finish of the wines. Just a touch more seriousness…
Juicy.
If we had to sum up these two 2022 wines in one word, this is what we would use. While the wines have structure and are complex, the overriding attribute I find when tasting them (even on days 3 & 4) is juicy, in the best possible sense.
Excellent stuff.
The wines
Craven Pinot Gris 2022
A favourite of ours: the skin-fermented Craven Pinot Gris. Copper-coloured, uber-aromatic, super-refreshing and straight-up delicious.
In the words of Mick & Jeanine Craven:
“Pinot Gris isn’t exactly an abundant grape planted in Stellenbosch, but it is something we have a lot of fun working with. Although a lot of the wine drinking world think and assume it is a ‘white grape’, it is in fact a lovely coppery/dark rose skinned grape.
“With this being the case, we just can’t waste that colour and delicious flavour trapped in the skins, so we ferment this wine like a red. The 2022 vintage saw a significant change in vinification. This year it was fermented and aged 100% in concrete tanks. The grapes were destemmed into the concrete tanks and given a light pump over once a day for gentle extraction of the lovely rose-coloured hue and chalky tannin. 2022 had such nice, developed tannins that we found only 6 days on skins was sufficient to give ample texture to the wine. The wine was then drained and pressed into the concrete tanks for a further 6 months of elevage.”
From a truly special vineyard planted 3km from False Bay it is a relatively ‘cooler’ site in Stellenbosch. Cinsaut at its best creates such lovely fresh, vibrant wine with amazing aromatics. The same vineyard that Bernard Bredell, from Scions of Sinai, uses. 100% destemming means the fruit can come to the fore on the palate.
In the words of Mick & Jeanine Craven:
“From 2017 we were lucky enough to be shown some fruit from a farm we have always wanted to make wine from, named Rustenhof. This great farm in the Faure area has an abundance of lovely Cinsaut, amongst many other varieties. This dryland, bush-vine block, planted in granite and sand, suits our style very well and is a pleasure to work with.
“Uniquely to our usual red winemaking style, we destem our Cinsaut before fermentation. We find that Cinsaut has a lower acidity than Pinot noir and Syrah, so we like to capture the little acidity that it has (whole bunch ferments tend to reduce acidity). Much like our Pinot Gris, the 2022 rendition of the Cinsaut has moved to 100% concrete for fermentation and ageing. We like to capture the fresher, brighter characters of Cinsaut and we find the use of concrete helps us preserve the bright fruit and energy of the wine. After the fermentation on skins is complete we drain and press to the concrete tanks for 6 months of elevage before bottling.”
Craven Pinot Gris and Cinsaut 2022
Craven Wines
Pinot Gris 2022 & Cinsaut 2022
The new Craven Pinot Gris and Cinsaut wines are now available to order!
Mick and Jeanine Craven specialise in single vineyard Stellenbosch wines, where they “let the grapes do the talking”.
The Cravens are the pioneers of skin contact Pinot Gris in South Africa. It is starting to be seen as one of the icon wines of “New Stellenbosch”.
For the first time both of these wines have been raised 100% in concrete which adds tightness and structure. We are loving this very subtle change in the palate and finish of the wines. Just a touch more seriousness…
Juicy.
If we had to sum up these two 2022 wines in one word, this is what we would use. While the wines have structure and are complex, the overriding attribute I find when tasting them (even on days 3 & 4) is juicy, in the best possible sense.
Excellent stuff.
The wines
Craven Pinot Gris 2022
A favourite of ours: the skin-fermented Craven Pinot Gris. Copper-coloured, uber-aromatic, super-refreshing and straight-up delicious.
In the words of Mick & Jeanine Craven:
“Pinot Gris isn’t exactly an abundant grape planted in Stellenbosch, but it is something we have a lot of fun working with. Although a lot of the wine drinking world think and assume it is a ‘white grape’, it is in fact a lovely coppery/dark rose skinned grape.
“With this being the case, we just can’t waste that colour and delicious flavour trapped in the skins, so we ferment this wine like a red. The 2022 vintage saw a significant change in vinification. This year it was fermented and aged 100% in concrete tanks. The grapes were destemmed into the concrete tanks and given a light pump over once a day for gentle extraction of the lovely rose-coloured hue and chalky tannin. 2022 had such nice, developed tannins that we found only 6 days on skins was sufficient to give ample texture to the wine. The wine was then drained and pressed into the concrete tanks for a further 6 months of elevage.”
Ingredients: Grapes, SO2.
100% Pinot Gris
W.O Stellenbosch
Vineyard: Newlands
Planting Year: 2007
Grown by: Deon Joubert
Soil: “Koffeeklip”
Alcohol: 12.05 %
pH: 3.66
Total Acidity: 5.2 g/L”
Craven Cinsaut 2022
From a truly special vineyard planted 3km from False Bay it is a relatively ‘cooler’ site in Stellenbosch. Cinsaut at its best creates such lovely fresh, vibrant wine with amazing aromatics. The same vineyard that Bernard Bredell, from Scions of Sinai, uses. 100% destemming means the fruit can come to the fore on the palate.
In the words of Mick & Jeanine Craven:
“From 2017 we were lucky enough to be shown some fruit from a farm we have always wanted to make wine from, named Rustenhof. This great farm in the Faure area has an abundance of lovely Cinsaut, amongst many other varieties. This dryland, bush-vine block, planted in granite and sand, suits our style very well and is a pleasure to work with.
“Uniquely to our usual red winemaking style, we destem our Cinsaut before fermentation. We find that Cinsaut has a lower acidity than Pinot noir and Syrah, so we like to capture the little acidity that it has (whole bunch ferments tend to reduce acidity). Much like our Pinot Gris, the 2022 rendition of the Cinsaut has moved to 100% concrete for fermentation and ageing. We like to capture the fresher, brighter characters of Cinsaut and we find the use of concrete helps us preserve the bright fruit and energy of the wine. After the fermentation on skins is complete we drain and press to the concrete tanks for 6 months of elevage before bottling.”
Ingredients: Grapes, SO2.
100% Cinsaut
W.O Stellenbosch
Vineyard: Rustenhof
Planting Year: 1988 and 1975
Grown by: Pieter Bredell
Soil: Granite, sand.
Alcohol: 12.10 %
pH: 3.59
Total Acidity: 5.5 g/L
Shop for more Craven Wines
Please contact david@exanimo.co.za if you have any queries.