Stellenzicht Semillon Reserve 2006

Name: Stellenzicht Semillon Reserve 2006
Brand: Stellenzicht
SKU: 22229

Colour: Typical green luminosity showing some hints of golden straw.
Bouquet: Citrusy herbaceousness is evident at first followed by a fuller toastiness from the oak. Some butterscotch and vanilla are also present.
Taste: Rich, full and yet elegant, this is very definitely a "gastronomic" wine. Its complexity of flavours include lime, guava, nettles and paw-paw enveloped in creamy, mouth-filling textures with a crisp, clean finish.

Very versatile with food pairings and loves both hot and cold dishes with creamy sauces, smoked seafood, poultry and veal. Fantastic with a crisp Caesar salad.

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variety : Semillon [ 100% Semillon ]

winery : Stellenzicht Vineyards

winemaker : Guy Webber

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 13.94 % vol rs : 1.7 g/l pH : 3.37 ta : 5.6 g/l

type : White style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

ageing : While fresh and vibrant in its youth, it will grow even further in complexity over time, reaching its full potential at an age of around 4 to 6 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
The vineyards The vines bearing the fruit from which this wine is crafted grow in decomposed granite at an altitude of 290m above sea level on a slope facing predominantly south-west. The 18 year-old vines, grafted onto nematode-resistant Richter 99 rootstocks and trellised on a five-wire system, received supplementary drip irrigation after flowering and again just before harvest. Yields were a low 4.46 tons per hectare in what has been characterised as a great vintage for white varieties in this area.
Viticulturists: Eben Archer & Johan Mong

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested by hand on 13 March at an average of 23.4° Balling.

in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the juice was drained, settled overnight and transferred to closed stainless steel tanks where fermentation was induced by the addition of a yeast strain known as NT116. Once fermentation was strongly underway, the must was transferred to barrels for the completion of the fermentation as well as for maturation on the lees. Malolactic fermentation was induced to add complexity to the wine although it was not allowed to reach completeness in order to retain some of the fresh natural acidity.

With bi-weekly batonage to extract the full benefit of the lees, the wine matured in barrel for eleven months before being prepared for bottling.

Barrels used in the maturation of the wine comprised 30% new French and American 500 litre barrels with the remaining 70% being second-fill barrels (300 litre) used for the same wine the previous vintage. This was the first vintage in which 500 litre barrels were used in order get a similar structure into the wine while reducing somewhat the amount of "oaky" flavours.

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