19 February 2004
Anti-alcohol campaigners in the UK are up in arms about a new product, called AWOL (alcohol without liquid). It consists of alcohol vapour that has the same effect as drinking it, but without the calories. Apparently it also gives a good ‘hit’.

The Pinotage-in-progress smell that pervades the cellar is gorgeous, but also laden with alcohol, which seems like a much more acceptable way of doing the alcohol vapour thing. We didn’t do a breathalyser test on Willem and Bolle (pictured alongside) taking a break from spading husks out of a tank of half-fermented Pinotage for pressing.

The Shiraz we hope will one day carry the flag for Cloof is in its final days of fermentation. On Saturday it will be moved to new barrels (mainly from the French coopers Nadalie and Bernard), for malolactic fermentation and maturation. This is the same treatment given to the 2003, which will be released towards the end of 2004. Putting the wine into new barrels at this early stage is a lot more work, but the integration of fruit and oak is much better than doing it later. The intensity and range of flavours in both vintages is sensational.

Also headed for new barrels this weekend is the small quantity of explosive Cabernet Franc Merlot we were able to harvest. As with all our wines we use a variety of coopers, but the core for this wine will be Taransaud barrels.

The first batches of rosé – juice drawn from Pinotage and Shiraz – are looking promising. The Cinsaut that makes up the backbone of this wine will be harvested from Monday.