This 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.
It is a full flavoured wine that would be the ideal partner to a range of stir–fries, pasta and grilled fish dishes. Serving temperature: 8°- 10°C.
variety : Viognier [ 100% Viognier ]
winemaker : Jacques Roux
wine of origin : Robertson
analysis : alc : 13.82 % vol rs : 2.0 g/l pH : 3.20 ta : 6.18 g/l
type : White body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Vintage
The 2007 Vintage will be remembered as one of the best till date. The run-up to this harvest was almost perfect, starting with a cold, wet winter (first one in many years) moderate spring, with no significant winds hampering growth.
The weather during harvest also was perfect with more or less no rain. The only little blemish in this years growing season was the heat wave during the end of January. Although high temperatures were recorded, the intensity of this heat wave was less severe in Robertson than in other South African winegrowing areas. The availability of irrigation also helped to buffer the vineyards against such a heat wave and the net result was that the vineyards coped with the heat wave conditions better than was expected.
The above mentioned conducive were contusive to good growth, effective canopies and a little bigger crop of excellent quality. The bigger crop is due to new vineyards coming into bearing, older vineyards cropping a bit more and especially because no crop losses occurred due to disease or rot.
With a season like this one, we can look forward to excellent 2007 wines – both red and white.
The Vineyards
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 : 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.