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Lammershoek LAM Chenin Viognier 2010

Fresh fruit and acid dominate this Chenin Blanc (60%) and Viognier (40%) blend. Low alcohol and natural acid are key to ensuring that the wine will age. On the nose a sense of coolness is the first impression then the subtle fresh flavours of Chenin and Viognier become apparent. There are none of the typical waxy characters that one normally finds on a Swartland Viognier and Chenin Blanc.

variety : Chenin Blanc [ 60% Chenin Blanc, 40% Viognier ]
winemaker : Craig Hawkins
wine of origin : Swartland
analysis : alc : 12.5 % vol  rs : 2.9 g/l  pH : 3.44  ta : 5.4 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry   wooded
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  
AWARDS
88 - 90 Wine Advocate

ageing : 8 - 10 years
in the vineyard :  Farmed dry land, thus no irrigation. The Chenin Blanc and Viognier vines are roughly 40 and 15 years old respectively. The Viognier vines are trellised and cropped according to what we feel each vine can handle without harming the eventual quality of the grape, thus some vines yield more than the next according to the particular vigor of the vine. The same principle applies to the bush vine Chenin; however, the vines are older and bush vines naturally crop less. There is no specific recipe that we use; each vineyard block is treated according to its strengths and weaknesses.

The vines are farmed organically; the ultimate goal is to use biodynamic principles that work for us on our specific soils/climate.
about the harvest:  2010 was a great harvest for white and red varieties, but particularly the whites. The traditional heat waves that normally hit the Swartland arrived very late. The grapes were thus able to mature without losing their natural acidity with the onset of hot days and warm nights.

Harvest for the white grapes commenced in the latter stages of January and ended in the first week of February. Stable acidities and low natural pHs are testament to the hard work being put into the vineyards to retain the natural balance between vine and nature.
in the cellar : 

Everything was 100 percent whole bunch pressed in a small pneumatic or basket press. Juice extraction was very low to retain optimal quality juice.


No settling, fining, enzymes, tannins, acid or SO2 were added or carried out at crushing, the juice was allowed to ferment in two 4500L INOX tanks at temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius thus no cooling was needed during fermentation. The two wines were blended after going dry and racked off their thick lees, but a large amount of lees was still retained to feed the wine. Malolactic fermentation was carried out naturally, this was not a concern as the wine had a large enough natural acidity after Malolactic fermentation.
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OTHER VINTAGES

Lammershoek LAM Chenin Viognier 2010
Chenin Blanc