Alto Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Colour: Deep ruby red with a pale rim.
Bouquet: Aromas of cigarbox, ripe blackberry and plum, with a hint of mint.
Taste: On the palate its cherry sweetness comes to the fore but is balanced by tannins, with oak and vanilla on the mid-palate.

The winemaker recommends serving it with steaks, lamb, stews and casseroles.

variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 100% Cabernet Sauvignon ]
winery : Alto Estate
winemaker : Schalk van der Westhuizen
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 14.10 % vol  rs : 3.10 g/l  pH : 3.56  ta : 5.71 g/l  
type : Red  style : Dry   wooded
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  

ageing : The wine is ready to enjoy now, but will improve for another 8 to 10 years with maturation.

in the vineyard : A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is made from the grapes of unirrigated, north-facing vines between 8 and 19 years’ old at the time of harvesting. These vines grow in decomposed granite soils and a clay subsoil, at altitudes of 135 m and 475 m above sea level, with those at the higher levels cooled by False Bay breezes. A five-wire fence was used to trellis the vines which yielded a low four to five tons the hectare.

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested by hand at the end of March at between 24° and 25° Balling.

in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the mash was fermented in stainless steel tanks at between 25° and 27°C, using the selected NT112 yeast culture. The juice was seperated from the skins after 10 days. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked into first-, second- and third-fill French-oak barrels and matured for 18 months. After a light sterile sheet-filtering, an egg-white fining was used to “polish” the wine before being bottled in March 2003.

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