in the cellar : The cooler conditions of the 1997 season, caused the grapes to ripen later. The grape varieties were physiologically ripe when harvested and at the same time had the correct sugar-acid proportion. This resulted in flavourful wines with a good structure and soft tannins. The grapes came from vineyards in the Voor-Paardeberg area. The yield was 12 tons per hectare.
Only the healthiest grapes are carefully selected, destalked and crushed. The juice is fermented in cement tanks ("kuipe") and for 75% of the duration of alcoholic fermentation is pumped over the skin cap twice a day for colour and flavour extraction. It is then fermented until dry before being racked to stainless steel tanks where it undergoes malo-lactic fermentation. The wine is matured in second and third-fill small oak barrels for twelfe months. The best barrels are then blended. The wine is fined and filtered before being bottled.