Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Name: Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Brand: Circumstance
SKU: 19018

The Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc shows some minerality at the core, also exhibiting sophisticated complexity, balanced with gooseberry freshness. Further complexity is expected to develop.

variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]

winery : Waterkloof

winemaker : Werner Engelbrecht

wine of origin : Western Cape

analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 2.66 g/l pH : 3.25 ta : 6.52 g/l va : 0.41 g/l

type : White style : Dry taste : Mineral wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

in the vineyard : Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc is produced from windswept south-west facing, low yielding slopes of Schapenberg Hill. Strong winds churn up the vineyards with regularity. This allows for low production and intense flavours. The vineyards are about four kilometres from the sea, and are planted at a height of between 270 and 300 metres above sea level.

The soils are of sandstone origin with medium-sized stones, helping with drainage, but also a very good ability to retain moisture. The vineyards are an average age of 11 years. Production was approximately 5 t/ha.

2007 GROWING SEASON
It was a very typical Cape winter with good rain and low temperatures. Spring was quite cool and summer came early. Early summer rain provided enough moisture to assist the vineyards through a warm spell early in January. As it does every year, the wind caused a natural crop reduction. This resulted in small bunches and berries, giving more concentration and flavour. Intensive vineyard practises were also followed, including a lot of attention to bearer spacing during pruning. Excess shoots were suckered three to four times during the growing season. This ensured that no green harvesting was needed, except for the removal of weak shoots. The grapes had a very good natural acidity.

in the cellar : The grapes were crushed and de-stemmed, followed by a very soft pressing using the champagne cycle on the press. The pressed grapes were allowed to settle for 24 hours before the clear juice was racked, no enzymes were added. Juice was racked from the settling tank and allowed to start fermentation naturally. Fermentation temperatures were between 16° - 18° Celsius and took four weeks to complete. After fermentation the wine was left on the primary lees for 30 days before any sulphur addition. This helped to add more complexity and weight to the palate. The wine was then racked and left on the fine lees up to bottling. A portion of the wine was fermented in old 600 litre barrels.

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