Pieter Ferreira new releases

Pieter Ferreira retired from full-time employment at Graham Beck at the end of January, thus ending a 35-year-stint at the specialist Cap Classique producer. “He finally belongs exclusively to me,” says wife Ann who has been the official face of the Pieter Ferreira brand until now. “It’s the start of a new chapter. I want to lead by example and lift the category. Can’t take all my knowledge with me…”, says Pieter.

Birdsong Blanc 2023
Price: R385
71% Chardonnay (Malmesbury, Robertson, Paarl, Napier) and 29% Pinot Noir (Darling, Paarl). Primary fermentation in a combination of stainless tank, ceramic pots and barrel. 39 months on the lees. The nose shows floral perfume, a hint of reduction, and suggestions of citrus and strawberry. The palate is fruit-forward with well-integrated acidity and a soft, creamy mousse – well balanced and pleasantly soft-edged. Alc: 11.72%.

CE’s rating: 91/100.

Birdsong Rosé 2021
Price: R385
100% Pinot Noir. 57% of grapes from Napier, 28% Durbanville, 15% Stellenbosch. Primary fermentation in a combination of stainless steel and ceramic pots. 55 months on the lees. Complex aromatics of red cherry, orange, rose, underpinned by yeasty complexity and subtle notes of mushroom and earth. The palate shows good fruit weight, pleasantly sour acidity and a fine mousse before a dry finish. There’s a vinous, multi-dimensional quality here that SA sparkling pinks rarely achieve. Alc: 11.63%.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

Pieter Ferreira Blanc de Blancs 2021
Price: R535
100% Chardonnay. 40% of grapes from Napier, 33% Darling and 27% Robertson. Primary fermentation in a combination of stainless tank, ceramic pots and barrel. 55 months on the lees. The nose is refined and cool-toned, showing lime, lemon and green apple, some floral perfume and a touch of flinty reduction. The palate is precise and unshowy, offering condensed fruit, vibrant acidity and a creamy, finely textured mousse, carrying through to a long, saline finish. More understated than the remarkable 2020 but still streets ahead of most local bubbly. Alc: 11.72%.

CE’s rating: 95/100.

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