Colour: Crisp, clear and vibrant with hues of lime green and golden straw.
Bouquet: Very typical Chardonnay profile with wafts of fresh lime, butterscotch and mingling tropical fruits. Toasty oak nuances are very subtle in the background with their hints of vanilla.
Taste: Medium-bodied and uncomplicated with the palate confirming what the nose experienced. Creamy citrus dominates initially while the same hints of vanilla show at the end. The crisp acidity results in a clean, refreshing aftertaste.
Enjoy on its own or with creamy seafood dishes, roast pork and lightly smoked poultry.
variety : Chardonnay [ Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon ]
winemaker : Guy Webber & Samantha de Morney-Hughes
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 13.67 % vol rs : 2.3 g/l pH : 3.57 ta : 6.5 g/l
type : White style : Dry body : Medium
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. 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 the Hill&Dale range of wines are sourced exclusively from the Stellenbosch region, with an extensive vineyard management programme under the guidance of vineyard guru, Prof. Eben Archer.
Vineyard Location
The sites on which the chosen grapes were grown vary from cool, south-facing slopes to warmer, north-western slopes and vary in altitude from the warmer, low-lying plains to the cool, elevated slopes of the Helderberg and Simonsberg Mountains.
All the vines are trellised and are grown predominantly in soils of decomposed granite, although some Table Mountain sandstone and shale are also found on a number of the slopes. The vines are grafted onto nematode-resistant rootstocks and are pruned and trained in a style so as to reduce the yield and optimise the quality of the fruit from which the wine is produced.
Viticulturist: Prof. Eben Archer
in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the juice was separated immediately from the skins. Pure yeast cultures were inoculated into the juice in order to optimise the fermentation process at around 14 to 16° C, which lasted between 15 and 18 days. A combination of French and American oak was used during fermentation to enhance the fullness and character of the variety and to add an extra dimension to the wine's complexity.
After extended lees contact of almost five months, the wine was allowed to clarify itself naturally under gravity for about three months prior to being blended with a touch of Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon to add to the overall freshness of the wine.
Bottling first took place in June 2008 with the total production being slightly over 13 000 cases (12 x 750ml).