Lalela Cinsault

Profile & Story

Lalela means "Come Listen" in Zulu, and that invitation is at the heart of this project from winemaking power couple Wade Sander and Natasha Williams. The venture aims to tell the untold story of all of the people in South Africa and their influence and participation across four hundred years of winemaking history. Wade and Natasha have used their combined two decades of experience to source exceptional fruit from across the Western Cape, which they process at their shared facility in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley; Wade honed his craft at Mullineux and in the Loire Valley. It is a Black-owned label in limited production, and the fruit is sourced predominantly from Black-owned farms. The Cinsaut label pays tribute to Maai Angela (Maai van de Kaap), one of the first freed slaves to own land in the Cape. 100% Cinsaut from a single-vineyard bush-vine parcel (8-year-old vines) grown on decomposed granite soils on the slopes of the Groenberg Mountain, in the warm-climate appellation of Wellington, which benefits from the cooling winds prevalent in the Groenberg valley. Grapes handpicked; processed to stainless steel red-wine fermenters with 15% whole bunch and the remainder destemmed on top; after 24 hours the must was bled (saignee) to increase structure and concentration; natural fermentation with indigenous yeast for 14-21 days with daily pump-overs; malolactic fermentation after pressing; aged 10 months in 228L older French oak, no new oak. 2024 bottling: 13.0% alcohol, RS 2.2 g/l, TA 5.3 g/l, pH 3.49, 2,297 bottles produced. Farming sustainable; the wine is vegan. Scores: 90 Tim Atkin '24; 90 Vinous/Neal Martin '24.