about the harvest: A second winter of unusually warm, dry conditions brought vines on early. A cool snap at flowering led to vastly lower yields in early-ripening varieties such as Chardonnay while yielding excellent quality. Rooted in shale and decomposed granite soils of Stellenbosch and the Western Cape, this wine is a combination of two regions. Chardonnay from cool, ocean-facing vineyards in Stellenbosch is blended with Chardonnay from warmer areas in the Western Cape. The Stellenbosch component gives the wine structure and crisp acids, and the Western Cape component provides a distinctive fruit component. The grapes were harvested at the beginning of February 1999 at 23.5 Brix.
in the cellar : Grapes were destemmed and crushed immediately. 40% was fermented in French oak barrels (20% 2nd fill and 20% 3rd fill) for 10 months and 60% was cold fermented in stainless steel tanks for 24 days at 13°C. The barrel component underwent malolactic fermentation. Stirring of the lees “Battonage” was applied every week for the first month, every two weeks for 3 months and every month for the remaining 5 months. Fining and minimal filtration preceeded the bottling.