2017 Craven 'Faure' Pinot Noir

Stellenbosch, South Africa

The Craven Pinot Noir comes off one of the coolest sites in Stellenbosch (it's pretty rare to see Pinot Noir here), the Faure block which was planted in 1998. The soil is mostly decomposed granite and sand, with clay beneath that. The wine is 70% foot stomped and 100% whole bunch fermented and into old barrels for 10 months. A very pretty nose that gives off cherries, some dried raspberry and florals. The palate shows sappy cherry with plum and herbs and even though it's 100% whole bunch fermented, there’s very little sense of stalkiness. Match this silky Pinot with a duck leg ragout or coq au vin.


  • Style & Food Matching

    The Craven Pinot Noir comes off one of the coolest sites in Stellenbosch (it's pretty rare to see Pinot Noir here), the Faure block which was planted in 1998. The soil is mostly decomposed granite and sand, with clay beneath that. The wine is 70% foot stomped and 100% whole bunch fermented and into old barrels for 10 months. A very pretty nose that gives off cherries, some dried raspberry and florals. The palate shows sappy cherry with plum and herbs and even though it's 100% whole bunch fermented, there’s very little sense of stalkiness.

    Match this silky Pinot with a duck leg ragout or coq au vin.

    Tech Notes

    Varietal / Blend: Pinot Noir

    Decant: Recommended

    Closure: Cork

    Farming Practices: Sustainable

  • Stellenbosch, South Africa

    "Our story begins back in 2007 while both 'dragging hose' in Sonoma, California, for the harvest season. A chance meeting between an Aussie and a South African has eventually turned into Craven Wines. After both having taken to the text books at our respective universities, we decided to hit the road, see lots of things, work in lots of places and try and learn as much as possible from this massive wine world. Since meeting we have both been on a similar journey to try and find exactly what we wanted to do. Luckily enough, we had very similar ideas.

    So back in 2011 we moved to Stellenbosch, South Africa, a place we both have an affinity for. We both feel Stellenbosch has such an amazing array of sites and terroir, and that it is perfect for what we want to do. Which is make site-specific, honest wines. Let the grapes do the talking.... In terms of 'winemaking' we like to keep things as simple as possible. To try and achieve the wines we want to make, we feel the best methods are being hands off, while being very hands on. In other words we pay serious attention to the wine but we do not manipulate the wine. We believe the best way to express site and fruit is to show just that. We do not use cultured yeasts, enzymes, fining agents, etc. throughout the winemaking process. We only use older oak and try our best to find larger format barrels. We allow our wines to stabilise naturally if they so want to. Essentially a minimal amount of SO2 (which is our friend) is the only thing added to our wines."

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