in the vineyard : Clone: CS46C, CS163C, CS27A
Rootstock: Richter 110, 99
Fruit source: Oude Nektar farm in Jonkershoek Valley (Block 5) Trellis: 5-wire vsp
Irrigation: supplemental drip irrigation
Vineyard elevation: 270-290m
Slope: South Westerly
This wine is based on our best block of cabernet - a higher elevation block with a finely textured decomposed granite soil with a clay sub-soil and a gentle Southwest-facing slope.
about the harvest: Yield: 5.5 tons/hectare
The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested in mid-March. They were picked into small lug boxes and cooled overnight in a refrigerated container to about 14 degrees C., then de-stemmed and carefully hand-sorted and crushed into small open fermentation vats and cold-soaked for 2-3 days until natural fermentation started.
in the cellar : The following day they were inoculated with a mix of yeasts, half with a South African strain and the other half with an imported Bordeaux yeast. About 20% of the wine was fermented with natural yeasts. Regular, vigorous punchdowns were given every 2-4 hours for the first half of fermentation, then every 6-8 hours thereafter. The wine was basket pressed and racked directly to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation and subsequent barrel maturation. A mix of coopers was used, all French oak, all 300 litre, about 70% new and the balance second-fill. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration after 22 months barrel maturation.