BLANKBOTTLE Confessions of a White Glove Chaser 2020

Description

Pieter Walser is one of the most innovative winemakers in the world, and is the producer of some of SA’s most coveted wines that you’ve probably never tasted. Within BLANKBOTTLE there are no 2 wines alike and about 30% of the wines are once-off limited editions. Pieter crafts unique wine blends, picking about 35 grape varieties from 60 vineyards around the Cape. Each of his wines is bottled and labelled according to the unique story behind it. The main aim of BLANKBOTTLE wines is to provide an honest, personal taste with no preconceived expectations that come with certain vintages or styles.

This is a story of very creative and budget-friendly wine-making that goes back to 2013 when Pieter Walser was on the hunt for excellent fruit sources, but was a little strapped for cash. At the time there were rumours going around about about a new series of consultants in town to sift through the huge amount of Bordeaux vineyards on offer to pick only the very best for SA's very only Screaming Eagle. On spotting a picking team wearing white surgical gloves, Pieter asked the farmer if he could buy the grapes as close as possible to the piece going to the White Gloves. And this is his confession of how he started chasing the white gloves! It's a remarkable wine - graceful yet with terrific concentration, velvety with a savoury, earthy touch making it very complex. For me this is reminiscent of a New World St Estephe.