Asara Noble Late Harvest 2004

Brilliantly concentrated liquid gold made from botrytis blessed Chenin grapes. A honeyed bouquet, layered with ripe pineapples, sun dried peach and apricot aromas. It is a concentrated, yet elegant wine with good fruit acidity for long ageing.


variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Jan van Rooyen
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 9 % vol  rs : 130.4 g/l  pH : 3.50  ta : 8.4 g/l  
type : Dessert  style : Sticky  body : Full  
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  

ageing : Drink until the end of 2014.

in the vineyard : This vintage brought the noble botrytis to our Chenin Blanc grapes at the top of the Estate. The altitude is ca. 230 meters above sea level. Cool ocean breezes from False Bay gives the ideal environment for growing Chenin at this site.

Age of vines: 16 years old
Clone: KWV
Rootstock: Richter 99
Soil type: Glenrosa
Trellising: Extended Double Perold
Plant spacing: 1.2m x 2.6m

about the harvest: We harvested over four days, and each picking was kept overnight for skin contact and extraction of flavours.

in the cellar : Each picking was kept overnight for skin contact and extraction of flavours. The juice was then combined and cold fermented for two weeks. Halfway through, the fermentation was arrested in order to achieve the right balance of flavour and structure. This was done by chilling the wine to almost zero degrees.

As a result, the style of the wine is more European than South African in the respect that it is not so very sticky sweet, but well balanced. There will be development of new and interesting flavours over 'time in the bottle'. Good fruit acidity will give a maturation potential of up to 10 years if cellared correctly.

The wine was bottled on the estate on 30 July 2004.
The production was 7,000 x 375 ml bottles.

find our wines in :

OTHER VINTAGES

Chenin Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc
Chenin Blanc