in the vineyard : Vineyard
The 4.4ha vines were planted in 2000 on (101-14) rootstock with 2.5m x 1.2m spacing. The vines are drip-irrigated to ensure optimal ripening and trained on the 5-wire-Perold-trellis system. Its planted on soils consisting of weathered granite on clay. Vines are planted on northwest facing slopes. The nearby Atlantic Ocean (False bay) also has a cooling affect on the vineyards during the ripening season.
Growing season and harvest
Though uneven, stop and start ripening, fugal danger, and smaller yields put a challenging spin on the 2010 harvest; the smaller crop resulted in smaller berries and more concentration and fruit-intensity in our red wines. With red varietals reaching physiological ripeness almost 2 weeks earlier than last year, the grapes also retained much of their natural acidity. I believe this will result in more balanced wines and might also aid in the graceful ageing of these 2010 wines.
in the cellar : Berries were crushed and cold-soaked for about 48 hours at 15° Celsius, and then inoculated with suitable yeast that would bring the best out of the varietal. The must was fermented in stainless steel tanks with pump-overs (aeration) every 4 hours - this was done to extract all of the colour and flavours out of the skins. Fermentation takes about 5 days at temperatures between 24 - 29° Celsius.