Black Pearl The Mischief Maker 2018

Black Pearl Vineyards is a single unirrigated vineyard on the slopes of Paarl Mountain. Mary Lou Nash & family relocated from New Hampshire in 1995 and taught themselves how to grow grapes and make wine. The 4.5 hectares of Shiraz (planted 1998) and 3 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon (planted 1999) are nestled between a parcel of extremely rare patch of Renosterveld (an indigenous flora) which is considered a World Heritage area. They buy in their Grenache from a nearby vineyard. Their vineyard is managed organically, save for the very infrequent need to spray for mildew. The fruit that they grow, produces voluptuous wines with soft tannins and black fruit notes – much like South Australia or Paso Robles. Since 2007 Mary Lou has always added Mourvedre to her Shiraz but never wrote on the label. Now she has included some Grenache and is trying to make a more perfumed, herbaceous & savory wine. The Shiraz, while it has a lot of black plum notes, also has nice peppery spiciness while the Mourvedre adds a graphite note to the aromatics and the Grenache adds white spice notes.