Stellenrust 46 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2010

A wine definitely made to be the only one in its class. The labelling on the wine has been designed to support the myth of the quality of older Chenin Blanc vineyards. The number on the front of the bottle refers to the age of the vines in the year the wine was made.

This is a very rich tropical wine, with intense flavours of pear-drop on the nose carried forward onto a caramel creamy palate of well judged oak.

This Chenin will complement an array of dishes: from orange infused duck confit to lemon infused Norwegian salmon on a bed of creamed spinach and potato.

variety : Chenin Blanc [ 100% Chenin Blanc ]
winemaker : Tertius Boshof
wine of origin : Bottelary Hills
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol  rs : 7.0 g/l  pH : 3.28  ta : 7.6 g/l  
type : White  style : Off Dry   wooded
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  

AWARDS
Five Nations Wine Challenge 2012 - Double Gold (SA) - 2nd place in class
in the vineyard : Grapes for this wine is harvested from a 46 year old single vineyard of Chenin blanc on the slopes of the Bottelary Hills, hence the number on the front of the bottle referring to age of the wines in the year the wine was made.

Slowly but surely building a reputation of excellence, the 2010 vintage shows no less character than any previous vintage. The 2010 season was pre-empted by an extremely cold wet winter and also low temperatures during harvest. This enabled slow ripening of the grapes but seasonal rain also increased the amount of noble rot found in the grapes.

about the harvest: Careful attention to detail and cautious treatment of botrytis infected bunches were necessary during the 2010 vintage to keep the wine as delicately balanced as usual. Two harvests were performed in order to reach optimal ripeness, but still avoid over ripeness and extraction.

Grapes are harvested between 22 and 24° Balling.

in the cellar : The juice allowed to settle without enzymes over several days. The juice is then drawn off into a special selection of barrels and allowed to ferment naturally. fermentation took just under 3 months to finish and the wine was kept on the fermentation lees for an additional 6 months.

Vineyards: 46 year old bush vines from Bottelary property
Time spent on lees in barrel: 9 months in oak - French and Hungarian oak.

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