variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 51% Cabernet Sauvignon
49% Merlot ]
winemaker : De Wet Viljoen
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 13.95 % vol rs : 2.2 g/l pH : 3.56 ta : 5.4 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Viticulturist: Eben Archer
Both varieties grow in Tukulu soils on south-western and south-eastern slopes, with the Cabernet Sauvignon at 120m to 150m above sea level, and the Merlot at 290m above sea level.
The Cabernet Sauvignon was planted between 1991 and 1993 and Merlot planted in 1985. Both are trellised onto a five-wire vertical fence-type system. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines, which yielded 5 tons per hectare, were irrigated, but the Merlot, with its low yield of 4 tons per hectare, grow under dry-land conditions.
in the cellar : The varieties went through separate fermentation in rotation tanks at 25° to 28°C, after inoculation with Vin 13. After malolactic fermentation, both varietals were aged in second-fill French oak for eight months.