in the vineyard : Viticulturist: Eben Archer
The sites on which the chosen grapes were grown vary from cool, south facing slopes to warmer, northwest slopes and vary in altitude from the warmer, low-lying plains to the cool, elevated slopes of the Helderberg and Simonsberg Mountains.
All the vines are trellised and are grown predominantly in soils of decomposed granite, although some Table Mountain sandstone and shale are also found on a number of the slopes. The vines are grafted onto nematode-resistant rootstocks and are pruned and trained in a style so as to reduce the yield and optimise the quality of the fruit from which the wine is produced.
in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the juice was immediately separated from the skins. Pure yeast cultures were inoculated into the juice in order to optimise the fermentation process at around 16° C, which lasted between 13 and 16 days. A combination of French and American oak was used during fermentation to enhance the fullness and character of the variety and to add an extra dimension to the wine's complexity.
After extended lees contact of 4 weeks, the wine was allowed to naturally clarify itself under gravity for about three months prior to being blended, filtered and bottled.