De Trafford Chenin Blanc 2008

Name: De Trafford Chenin Blanc 2008
Brand: De Trafford
SKU: 21352

The nose is a little closed at first, evolving in the glass to show a honeyed botrytis character with baked apple, wet stones, damp hay and a hint of spicy oak. Needs a little air to bring out the inherent richness on the palate. Nicely structured with a balance between the botrytis richness and the racy minerality. A long clean finish.

Extremely versatile food wine - excellent with rich fish dishes, sushi and other seafood as well as most subtle white meats or simply on its own.

variety : Chenin Blanc [ 100% Chenin Blanc ]

winery : De Trafford Wines

winemaker : David Trafford

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 14.56 % vol rs : 2.1 g/l pH : 3.5 ta : 6.4 g/l va : 0.50 g/l so2 : 92 mg/l fso2 : 30 mg/l

type : White style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

ageing : Probably best between 2010 and 2015.

in the vineyard : 2 blocks ( Keerweder ) 36 year old vines on a 3 wire trellis on neighbouring cool, high altitude, SW slope. Deep red Hutton soil with good moisture retention. Unirrigated. Yield 3 tons / ha.

2 blocks ( Post House ) 22 & 24 year old vines on a 7 wire trellis with moveable foliage wires. Lower slopes of the Helderberg, 8 km from the cooling influence of the sea. Gravelly Hutton and Escourt soil. Yield 6 tons / ha. Lightly irrigated just after veraison.

1 block ( Waterkloof ) 24 year old bush vines on nearby north facing deep red Hutton soil with good moisture retention. Unirrigated. Yield 7 tons / ha.

about the harvest: Typical cold, wet winter followed by a normal growing season with enough rain and warm weather to produce good, balanced growth. As in 2007, the Chenin Blanc seemed to relish the knife - edge harvest conditions with small heatwaves alternating with wet, cold spells. Unlike 2007, we had quite a bit of botrytis, especially in the later Keerweder blocks. The grapes were picked in the cool mornings @ 21.7 - 24.5º Balling.
Harvest dates: 5/2/08 - 8/3/08

in the cellar : Grapes lightly crushed and allowed 3 hours skin contact (a long breakfast!) before gently pressing in a traditional basket press. Sulphur added and natural settling allowed for 2 days before
100 % barrel fermentation with natural yeasts.
All the wine was kept in 225 litre and a few 700 litre casks for 7 to 8 months with lees stirred 1 - 2 times a month initially. Lightly fined with bentonite - a natural clay.
20% new oak used - 80% French, 20% American. No malolactic fermentation.
Bottled unfiltered on the property by hand.
Bottling date: 14/10/08. (854 x 12 x 750ml and 140 x 1.5L produced)

Label painting by Rita Trafford titled "Bird study with Berries".

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