Radford Dale Thirst Gamay Noir

Thirst Gamay is a refreshing, lower naturally-made wine, with minimal intervention. We have not stripped it of any natural components and it is neither fined nor filtered. Why? Thirst is a live rock concert rather than a manufactured, boy band studio album. Our aim to express its environment, the varietal and the vintage, in the most natural way. Our simple logic is, the less you manipulate the wine, the better it is, and we therefore capture its integrity, energy and individuality.

Only 8 hectares of Gamay are planted in South Africa and this vineyard is situated in Stellenbosch on a South East-facing slope.

Low, single wire trellising and the sprawling growth of the variety mean that grapes are carried within the canopy, which shelters the thin skinned bunches from too much direct sunlight, thus conserving natural acidity and freshness.

This vineyard is 21 years old so yields are small, as can be expected from a vineyard of this age. We picked early but with optimum ripeness. In the cellar, whole bunch carbonic maceration methods were used during the fermentation, then the grapes were basket pressed resulting in a wonderfully perfumed fruit expression. No oak used at all.

FOOD PAIRING

Cured meats / Charcuterie