Storm Ignis Pinot Noir 2020
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Wine
Spectator
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Ignis Pinot Noir hails from a northern slope in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Organically farmed, the vineyard is cluttered with round pebbles on the soil surface with underlying decomposed granite. Latin for "fire," ignis refers to the fact that granite is an igneous rock formation – "from fire to stone."
Storm Ignis Pinot Noir 2020 is scented and beguiling with water melon and wild strawberry fruit, a hint of granitic grip, spicy oak and a refreshing finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Shows hints of smoke, rhubarb and stemmy herbs that are up-front and pungent on the nose, gradually opening on the palate to reveal cherry and cranberry reduction, citrus and spice notes. Chewy and savory, let this lively red open in the glass. Best after 2024.
Other Vintages
2016-
Wine
Enthusiast
Meticulous viticulture, minimal intervention in the cellar and a constant nod to the Old World present the wines with a warm personality and character. With the maiden vintage for both vineyards in 2012, Storm Wines continues to handcraft, perfect and shepherd Pinot Noir from their unique terroirs into very distinctive site specific wines.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.