Light, golden green in colour, the wine's voluptuous gooseberry and guava flavours carry through on the palate, where its acidity contributes to a sensation of freshness and a clean, lingering aftertaste.
On its own, or with blue cheeses, pastas served with rich sauces and grilled fish or shellfish.
variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Philip Jordaan & Shawn Thompson
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 11.79 % vol rs : 6.3 g/l pH : 3.29 ta : 6.7 g/l
type : White
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : The grapes were all harvested within a radius of 5 km of the cellar from vines between 5 and 10 years old, growing in sandy, slightly clay soil. The vines were mostly grafted on Richter 99 rootstock and received supplementary irrigation based on hydrometer readings. Canopies were actively managed to ensure bunches were kept in the shade and away from direct sunlight.
Background
Du Toitskloof Wine Cellar (DTK) was established by six wine farmers as a cooperative 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.<
about the harvest: To ensure they reached the cellar in the coolest possible state, the grapes were mechanically harvested at night at 19° to 21° Balling and transported enveloped in layers of dry ice to reduce contact with oxygen.
in the cellar : After crushing the juice was pumped to an enclosed press where it was kept on the skins for 24 hours to allow for optimal flavour extraction. Only the free-run juice was then pumped over and allowed to settle under reductive conditions. The juice was cooled to -4° C and kept at that temperature for two to three weeks when all excess water in the juice was frozen, a practice which increases the flavour concentration and the sugar level. The juice was then pumped out of the cold tanks and the temperature allowed to rise to 8° to 10° C after which it was inoculated with natural yeast strains. Fermentation took place in steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 10° to 12° C. After about four weeks the wine was fermented dry and was then protein- and cold- stabilised before bottling.