Stellenzicht Golden Triangle Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Colour: Bright, crisp and sparkling, the wine entices with its ever-so-slight green tinge which should take on a slight golden hue with a further few months in the bottle.
Bouquet: Very subtle and delicate tones of fig and green pepper will develop into a more complex array of gooseberries, litchis and even some honey with time.
Taste: Not being a "jump-out-of-your-glass-wine", the initial taste is as delicate as the bouquet is while the mouth-feel opens up a whole new arena of subtly crisp flavours ending in a wonderfully long, clean aftertaste.

Suggested accompaniments include fresh green salads with apple, asparagus with zesty vinaigrette splashes and the winemaker's personal favourite - Coronation Chicken.

variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Guy Webber
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.2 % vol  rs : 1.4 g/l  pH : 3.26  ta : 6.6 g/l  so2 : 118 mg/l  fso2 : 54 mg/l  
type : White  style : Dry  
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  

ageing : Under the correct cellaring conditions, the wine should reach its full potential by the age of around 2 years.

in the vineyard : Background
Flanked by the Helderberg and Stellenbosch Mountain, between Stellenbosch and the False Bay coast, lies an exceptional tract of land that benefits from terroirs eminently suited to the cultivation of the highest quality wine grapes. This jewel in the crown of the magnificent Stellenbosch wine-growing region is known as the Golden Triangle. At its core lies Stellenzicht.

The award-winning Stellenzicht range reserves its Golden Triangle label for those wines which most eloquently demonstrate the unique terroir of this special part of the Helderberg, home to some of South Africa's most exceptional wines.

Vineyard Location
Planted between 1985 and 1997, the vineyards from which the fruit for this wine was harvested are grown in decomposed granite at altitudes ranging between 110m and 340m above sea level. The vines are all grafted onto nematode-resistant Richter 99 and 110 rootstocks and trellised on vertical five-wire systems. Winter pruning was done to 2 spurs but with select "Cazenave" bearers allowing the vineyards to yield an average of 5.69 tons per hectare. The vines received supplementary irrigation at veraison and just before ripeness.
Viticulturist: Eben Archer 

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested by hand at an average of 23.4° Balling on 20 and 22 February 2008.

in the cellar : After destalking, crushing and overnight draining, the freerun juice was allowed to settle for 48 hours. The clear juice was transferred to fresh stainless steel tanks where fermentation was induced by the inoculation of pure yeast strains (Vin 7 and Vin 13) specially chosen for relatively cool ferments. Fermentation took place at 14° C and lasted for 19 days. Once this process was completed, the tanks were each topped up, cooled down to 10° C and the wine left to rest on its primary lees for two months. This lees contact helps to increase the mouth-feel of the final wine as it adsorbs the autolized yeast cells back into the wine.

Final blending, stabilization and filtration completed the process and a total of 17 721 bottles were filled on 12 June 2008.

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Sauvignon Blanc
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Sauvignon Blanc