in the vineyard : Lanzerac estate, situated at the entrance to the Jonkershoek valley in Stellenbosch, Latitude (S) 33°56333 Longitude (E) 18°53590 Four different vineyard blocks, L5, D9, L3 & L10
Area: 6,13 ha in total
Crop size: 34 tons
Tons per hectare:5,5 t/ha
Altitude: 166m - 375m
Age of the Vines: 4(D9), 6(L5, L10) and 7(L3) years
Rootstock: Richter 99
Clones: CY8 (D5, L10), CY17B/CY3 (D9), CY277/CY95A (L3)
Soil: Deep well drained red (D9), Deep dry alluvial sand (L5), Deep stony sand (L10) and medium deep well drained yellow (L3).
Plant DirectionL E/W (D9) N/S (other)
Trellising: 2-wire Perold system. Sufficient to accommodate the vigour of the vines and to ensure good distribution of shoots, leaves and bunches.
Density: 4,190 vines per ha on average.
Space between rows: 3m (D9), 2,4m (L5), 1,8m (L3,L10)
Space between vines: 1m (D9, L5), 1,2m (L3,L10)
Irrigation:
Micro spitters controlled by computer system through moisture meters and tensiometers. This enables stress management of the vines to produce optimum fruit quality. This is done in accordance with the water retention ability of the specific vineyard block.
Canopy Management
Optimal balance between vigour and crop load is achieved by pruning through the correct number of bearer eyes (2). Summer manipulation in the form of suckering, shoot thinning and positioning complement the winter pruning.
about the harvest: All harvesting is done by hand. Extreme care is taken not to damage grapes and only healthy grapes are picked. Grapes are picked when fully ripe. The grapes were picked at 23 and 24° Balling
HARVEST DATE
2,3/2/99 (D5); 3,4/2/99 (L3); 15/2/99 (L10, L5)
in the cellar : Whole bunches crushed without prior destemming to ensure a prominent fruit character as well as a well-rounded wine. After pressing, the juice was settled in stainlessteel tanks for 48 hours at 10°C before the fermentation of the clear juice was started in the same tanks. The juice fermented down to about 19°Balling before it was pumped to 300 l French oak barrels. The barrels used on the Chardonnay were one third new, one-third 2nd fill and one-third 3rd fill. After fermentation in the barrels, the barrels were emptied and the gross lees were thrown out. The wine was sulphured and left to mature in the barrels for eleven months. The wine was bottled during January 2000 and underwent further maturation in the bottle for ten months prior to release.