The first Viognier from Robertson Winery shows a rich medley of fresh apricot, peach and lemon aromas that follow through to the smooth, slightly oily palate with a lingering aftertaste; a full flavoured wine.
This full-flavoured wine will be the ideal partner to a range of stir-fries, pasta and grilled fish dishes.
in the vineyard : Incredibly healthy grapes of excellent quality to produce outstanding wines – This is how the 2006 vintage will be remembered.
Again the season started with very little winter rainfall in Robertson, but this time around, enough rain fell in the Brandvleidam catchment area to ensure sufficient water supply.
Early and even budbreak occurred and due to lots of wind and cooler growing season only moderate vineyard vigour were achieved.
The prevailing strong wind induced stress on the grapevines which had a positive effect on wine quality, as it led to smaller, looser bunches with fewer, smaller and more concentrated berries.
The 2006 crop was a little bigger than 2005, but is still smaller than an average crop. This is mainly due to the smaller, looser bunches with smaller berries.
Optimum ripeness was reached at lower sugar levels due to the cooler ripening period. Especially the night temperatures were lower than normal. This coupled with the smaller berries ensured excellent red wine colours and quality. It also impacted positively on white wine quality.
The grapes were sourced from only two vineyards, the one located on the gravelly hills near Ashton, and the other on red Karoo soils near McGregor.
Careful canopy management and irrigation were used to control the vigour and to ensure optimum canopy efficiency. This also optimized the microclimate within the vineyard, providing the ideal conditions for the varietal to flourish.
in the cellar : The grapes were harvested at 24,5° Balling from both vineyards on the 22nd February and 6th March 2006. Fermentation took place in tanks and barrel to allow for maximum wood extraction. No malolatic fermentation took place but the wine was left on its lees for 3 months, with batonnage executed every two weeks for the first two months to give the wine richness and complexity.