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Newton Johnson Family Vineyards

“I’ve become more involved in the vineyards,” Gordon Newton Johnson tells me as we pause to admire the panorama down the Hemel-en-Aarde valley towards the distant sea. “We have a mixed history of négociant and estate wines, but now we concentrate more on estate fruit. COVID forced us to do that. Doing our first set of replanting, we replaced Syrah with Pinot Noir and we have used better material. In tandem, all the training is being changed from Cordon to Guyot, which is especially important for the Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is usually quite fertile, but the drought years were very low cropping. Whether it is single or double Guyot depends on the vigour of the soil. At the moment, we have 17 hectares under vine, and our aim is to end up [with] 24 hectares.” Newton Johnson’s wines never seem to let you down. Maybe they don’t quite muster the pizzazz of the valley’s most adventurous winemakers, yet he is a very assured, skilful winemaker that knows how to capture the freshness and transparency that defines great Pinot from this region. Likewise, the Chardonnays are taut and crisp with deftly infused tropical hints, a couple demonstrating clever use of reduction to enhance tension. Prices are predictably a steal compared to Burgundy – give them a try.

From Growing Up ‘n Getting Wiser: South Africa in 2022 (Sep 2022) by Neal Martin

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2021 Albariño

Release Price: $18

Color: White

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