Quando Mourvedre Rosé 2020, Robertson, South Africa

About Quando: The Quando wine portfolio is made by brothers Fanis and Martin Bruwer on their riverside property in the Robertson wine valley of South Africa. The Bruwer brothers are of French Huguenot descent who arrived from the Loire Valley in South Africa in 1693. The Bruwers were vignerons in France and are after nine generations in South Africa are still vine growers and wine makers in Robertson. Just about all the classic wine cultivars are grown on the property, but only Sauvignon Blanc, Mourvedre and Pinot noir grapes are kept back to make wine from.

The farm boarders the Breede River running through the valley and is enfolded on both side by the Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountain ranges. A Mediterranean climate with hot summers and balmy breezes from the Indian Ocean in the afternoon help to create the perfect terroir.

The vineyard and soil: 2 hectares of Mourvèdre vines were planted in 2001 on a slope of Red Karoo clay. Mouvèdre grapes are of the most flavorful wine grapes to eat and we thought it would make a great Rosé if we could capture those berry flavors in the wine. All the great Rosé’s from Southern France and Spain are made from Mourvèdre and suppose they cannot be wrong! The vines are 3 wire Perold trained.

Vinification: During the ripening phase the grapes are tasted weekly until raspberry flavours unfold in the grapes. This normally happens round about 23 Degrees balling, the same time birds start to flock in the vineyard to gorge themselves on the red berries. The Mourvèdré grapes were harvested by hand and cooled down to 8 degrees Centigrade. After destalking and crushing the grapes, it only received 15 minutes skin maceration without enzymes to keep the color as light as possible. Only the free run juice was used. Two different parcels were picked and vinified separately with different yeasts over a period of two weeks to garner complexity. These parcels were then blended back to create this Rosé for all occasions.

Description:” This is a wine that I, Fanus Bruwer, make for myself to drink because I love a good Rosé in summer. The wine is pale rose petal pink in color. Red Berries, rhubarb and cassis on the nose follow through with a juicy fruitiness on the palate and velvety crisp aftertaste” Fanus Bruwer, wine maker

Awards: Double Gold Awards 2017 2018 2019 2020 in the Rose Rocks Competition

Alcohol:  13 %