Veritas 2006 - Bronze
Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2006 - Gold Medal
This wine forms part of the ultra premium range which is a tribute to South African artist Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (1886-1957), famous for his mastership in portraying the unadorned beauty of the South African landscape and its architecture. Each new release in the range reflects a different piece of Pierneef art on its label.
The wine had intense tropical flavours of passion fruit and melon. There are also scents of 'fynbos', the natural vegetation on the farm. On the palate there are lime and gooseberry flavours, with a fresh, mineral finish.
A refreshing aperitif and perfect with salads, sea foods, sea food pasta and spicy foods such as Chinese and Thai dishes.
in the vineyard : Origin:
This is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc wine, made from the second production of grapes from one vineyard in the Walker Bay area close to the town Bot River. The slope faces south-west and is situated approximately ten kilometres from the Indian Ocean.
Vintage:
Harvesting was preceded by a cold. late winter and a dry summer. For the second year in a row the rainfall was lower than the long-term average. The ripening period was hot, but being an early varietal, this Sauvignon Blanc missed the worst of it. The season was also particularly early, with picking starting on 27 January, two weeks earlier than the previous year.
Viticulture:
Plant material is from the clone SB11 and was grafted on Richter 99 rootstock. The block was planted in 2001, with a plant width of 2,7 x 1,2 metres. The vineyard is trellised and irrigated.
The farm as well as the block are organically managed and with the soil being of medium potential, the vines were not yet fully trellised and mature at harvest-time. Production was, therefore, still low at only 3,6 tons per hectare. Bunches received a lot of direct sunshine.
about the harvest: Grapes were picked at 23° Balling and transported to the La Motte cellar. After de-stalking, the grapes were cold-soaked for sixteen hours. Fermentation of 30 days in stainless steel tanks was at 11 degrees Celsius. The wine was left on the lees for five months, before bottling at La Motte in July 2005. Only 5,000 litres were bottled.