variety : Tinta Barocca [ Tinta Barocca
Souzao
Touriga Nacional ]
winemaker : Philip Jordaan & Shawn Thompson
wine of origin : Breede River
analysis : alc : 18.00 % vol rs : 110.7 g/l pH : 3.9 ta : 4.9 g/l
type : Fortified style : Sweet
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
Du Toitskloof Wine Cellar (DTK) was established by six wine farmers as a co-operative winery in 1962. Today it has 22 members whose vineyards all lie within a 10 km radius of the cellar. It is located near the town of Rawsonville in the Breede River Valley, at the entrance to the Du Toitskloof Mountain Pass. The stony soils of the area are ideally suited to grape growing. DTK's award-winning wines are known for their excellent quality at affordable prices, and during the last five years it has been rated the South African cellar offering the best value by WINE magazine, three times. The cellar produces some 10 million litres of wine a year from 13 500 tons of grapes, of which 60% is white and 40%, red. Its major white cultivar is Sauvignon blanc, followed by Chardonnay, Chenin blanc and Semillon. The main red cultivars are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage.
In the vineyards
The three cultivars Touriga Nacional, Souzao and Tinta barocca were all sourced from the same farm about 8 km from the cellar. The vineyards grow in deep sandy-clayey alluvial soils. The vines grafted on to Richter 110/99, are 10 to 15 years old and receive irrigation.
in the cellar : Cape Ruby Port is made using grapes from three classic Portuguese varietals. After harvesting the grapes were pressed in rotor tanks before being inoculated with slow yeast strains to ensure maximum skin contact. Fermentation was stopped at 12° Balling by racking the juice before fortifying it with brandy spirits. The wine was then stabilised and filtered before bottling.