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Wine Description
The Story
Varietals: 65% Chenin Blanc, 13% Grenache Blanc, 10% Viognier, 10% Clairette Blanche, 2% Semillon Gris
Wine of Origin: Swartland
Source of Grapes: From seven sustainably farmed vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland: one parcel of 39 year-old Chenin and a parcel of 9 year old Grenache Blanc on the stony Schist based soils of the Kasteelberg; two parcels of 40-65 year-old dry land bush vine Chenin, one parcel of 42 year old Clairette Blanche and a 58 year old heritage Semillon Gris vineyard grown on the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg; and a parcel of 19 year-old Viognier on the iron-rich soils of the rolling hills west of Malmesbury.
Winemaking: As each parcel is harvested the grapes are chilled in our cold room. The grapes are then pressed wholebunch and the juice is allowed to settle overnight. Minimal SO2 is added and, as with all our wines, no other additions are made. The juice is then racked to barrel for fermentation. Fermentation is with indigenous yeasts and lasts up to 8 weeks. The wine is left without additional sulphur on its lees until spring. During this time the wine finished malolactic fermentation. The barrels are racked and blended just before the following vintage and bottled unfiltered.
Maturation: 10 months in 3rd and 4th fill French oak 500L barrels and one new 2000L Foudre
Tasting Note: This wine has a nose of citrus and stone fruit with some spice and floral elements. The palate is fairly full, layered and richly textured, balanced by a vibrant acidity, with savoury notes. The finish is fresh and pithy. Best served at 10 to 12°C, this wine will show optimally when decanted in the first 3 years after bottling.
Wine Information
Production: 26,580 bottles / 2,215 cases plus 120 magnums
Alcohol: 13.5%
Residual Sugar: 2.7 g/l
Total Acidity: 5.5 g/l
pH: 3.42
Bottling Date: 14th December 2017
Date(s) Harvested: Grapes were harvested between the 26th January and 13th February 2017.
Yields: Between 4 to 6 tons/ha = 24 to 33 HL/ha.