Mashes Extreme Pinotage

Daredevils’ Drums Mashes Extreme is Pinotage pushed beyond convention. Its name reflects the uncompromising winemaking approach: after fermentation, the wine remains in prolonged contact with its skins for six months, allowing colour, structure, tannin and flavour to develop far beyond what is usual.

The grapes come from Pinotage vines planted in 1999 on the Springfontein Rim, just 5 km from the Atlantic. The cool coastal climate, native fynbos vegetation and highly alkaline maritime limestone soils provide the foundation for a wine that combines remarkable concentration with freshness and natural tension.

Daredevils’ Drums is our playground for wild ideas and unconventional methods. Mashes Extreme takes this philosophy to one of its most extreme expressions: rather than separating the wine from the skins after a conventional fermentation, we deliberately extend the contact for months, allowing time to become an essential part of the winemaking process.

After careful selection and hand harvesting, the grapes undergo 15 days of open fermentation before remaining on their skins for a further six months of extended maceration. The wine is then matured for 20 months in second-fill and older French oak barrels. Fermentation and maturation take place with spontaneous fermentation by wild and indigenous Springfontein yeasts originating from the native limestone fynbos.

The result is a deep, powerful and intensely structured Pinotage, with layers of dark cherry, blackberry and plum alongside cedar, cocoa and wild herbs. Firm, gripping tannins give the wine considerable depth and longevity, while its cool coastal origin keeps the concentration in balance with freshness and precision. A wine made for the long haul – bold, uncompromising and unmistakably Daredevils’ Drums.