variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Guy Webber & Samantha de Morney-Hughes
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 13.85 % vol rs : 1.9 g/l pH : 3.71 ta : 5.9 g/l so2 : 117 mg/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Medium taste : Fragrant wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
Stellenzicht's Hill&Dale label offers a range of accessibly styled wines with a New World character for international appeal, created by award-winning winemaker Guy Webber and his team. Despite their being made for early and easy enjoyment, Webber has eschewed a generic format for these wines, instead choosing to clearly express their origins.
Grapes for Hill&Dale are sourced exclusively from Stellenbosch, with an extensive vineyard management programme in place, which includes inputs from specialists such as vineyard guru, Prof. Eben Archer.
Vineyard Location
The grapes were sourced from trellised vineyards on north-easterly slopes in the Banhoek area, east of Stellenbosch. Grown in soils originating mostly from decomposed granite but also with some Table Mountain sandstone, the vineyards received only one supplementary irrigation, by means of a drip system, just before ripening.
Yields of 7.9 tons and 9.3 tons per hectare were attained for the Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz portions respectively.
Viticulturists: Prof. Eben Archer and Johan Mong
in the cellar : After harvesting the grapes were -stemmed and crushed. Fermentation took place in closed stainless steel tanks, with select yeast strains, at between 26° and 28° C.
Portions of the wine were matured in a combination of French, American and Eastern European oak for 12 months before being blended. In order to maintain the natural fruit flavours in the wine, no new oak barrels were used in the maturation process. No finings were needed in preparing the wine for bottling which took place on 12 August 2008.
A total of just over 63 000 litres was produced.