The Blackwater Pleasure Garden Palomino 2021 represents a remarkable rescue mission of South African viticultural history. Winemaker Francois Haasbroek sourced this fruit from a single vineyard in Robertson, where the vines date back to the late 1920s. These ancient, dry-land farmed plants produce a wine that defies the “neutral” reputation of the Palomino grape.
You will discover a bouquet of ripe pear, elderflower, and honeysuckle, beautifully layered with a distinct saline minerality. The Blackwater Pleasure Garden Palomino 2021 showcases a particularly textured palate, thanks to a small portion of skin-macerated fruit and 14 months of aging in concrete eggs. This process creates a wine with incredible weight and length while maintaining a crisp, linear acidity.
- 92 Points – Tim Atkin MW (South Africa Special Report)
- 90+ Points – Christian Eedes (Winemag.co.za)
Francois Haasbroek emphasizes minimal intervention to let the limestone terroir shine through. The 2021 vintage highlights a “vanguard” of orange barley candy and salted cashews. It drinks beautifully now but possesses the structure to age gracefully over the next five years.