Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2011
Colour: Golden yellow
Bouquet: Fruit cake, dried apricot, honey and peach aromas.
Taste: Concentrated fruit cake with honey and marmalade and a good sugar acid balance with a fresh, fruity palate.
Excellent served on its own or with strong cheeses, fig preserve and nuts.
variety : Weisser Riesling [ 100% Weisser Riesling ]
winemaker : De Wet Viljoen
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 9.00 % vol rs : 216.13 g/l pH : 3.62 ta : 9.53 g/l va : 1.17 g/l so2 : 144 mg/l fso2 : 17 mg/l
type : Dessert taste : Fruity
pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
The Neethlingshof estate in Stellenbosch, owned equally by Distell and LUSAN), takes its name from its one-time 19th century owner, Marthinus Laurentius Neethling, who served as mayor of Stellenbosch and was also a member of the old Cape Parliament.
Neethlingshof's reserve tier, formerly Lord Neethling, has been renamed The Short Story Collection. Drawing attention to the winery's rich and varied narratives, the three-limited edition wines in the collection each focus on a specific aspect of the estate’s philosophy or history. They are made exclusively from hand-picked grapes.
The Maria is the new name for the acclaimed Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest and honours Maria Magdalena Marais, the resourceful and feisty young widow who took over the building of the estate’s manor house after the death of her husband, Charles, in 1813. The home was completed the following year and is now a national monument. Assisted by two teenage sons, the widow Marais was responsible for developing a vibrant and viable farming operation that included 80 000 vines to produce 30 leaguers of wine and 1,75 leaguers of brandy a year. At the time, the farm was named Wolwedans. However, some time after the marriage of her daughter, Anna Margaretha to Johannes Henoch Neethling, the name of the property was changed to Neethlingshof.
The vineyards
The Maria’s grapes come from Neethlingshof's Weisser on the Hill and Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, exposed to the cooling mists of False Bay, which help to create the appropriate set of conditions under which botrytis cinerea (noble rot) can flourish to produce grapes of concentrated intensity.
The grapes were picked from south-facing dryland vines planted in 1991 and 1992 in deep, red soils and situated 140 to 170 metres above sea level.