in the cellar : The new clone material produced healty grapes with a good colour. The yield was a low 6 tons per hectare with the resultant concentration of flavour in the grapes. Most of the grapes came from vineyards in the Paardeberg area where the cool southernly winds together with the shale and sandstone soil, create a meso-climate conducive to high quality Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Only the healthiest grapes are carefully selected, destalked and crushed, whereafter the acid content is supplemented immediately to lower the pH. The juice is fermented in closed cement tanks and for the full duration of alcohol fermentation, is pumped over the skin cap twice a day for colour and flavour extraction. It is fermented until dry and spends another four to five days on the skins. The wine is then racked, the skins are pressed and malo-lactic fermentation is completed. The wine spent twelve months in new to fifth-fill small oak barrels. The final blend is made up from the different barrels and matured in stainless steel tanks for 12 months before being filtered and bottled. It is bottle-matured for at least six months before being released.
Silver Veritas 2000 Award