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 while yielding excellent quality. The grapes were harvested from 10 – 15 year old vines, at 25.1° Brix.
in the cellar : The juice from Stellenbosch underwent 2 to 3 days pre-fermentation cold maceration, then was inoculated with French yeast. On completion of fermentation, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation then matured in small French oak barrels for 11 months. The juice from the Western Cape was fermented in stainless steel tanks using local yeast. On blending the 2 components, the wine was fined and then bottles without filtration, in order to retain maximum intensity of flavours.