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Waterkloof Circle of Life White 2011

Lime and peach notes. Intense, with great balance. A tight mineral core and creamy middle palate allows for great complexity and a persistent finish.

variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Semillon ]
winery : Waterkloof
winemaker : Werner Engelbrecht
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol  rs : 4.6 g/l  pH : 3.28  ta : 5.80 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry   wooded
pack : Bottle  size : 0  closure : Screwcap  
AWARDS
in the vineyard :  Working with nature allows us to experience its natural cycle every year. Vines awaken from their rest in spring, growing and producing fruit until the next winter when they go to sleep again. This cycle is also evident through our Biodynamic practices that we follow on Waterkloof. Circle of Life is inspired by this cycle that exists not only on Waterkloof, but life in general.

Our focus over the last 7 years has always been to get a better understanding of Waterkloof and the individual characters of its vineyards. We discovered that vineyards from different parts of Waterkloof produced wines that were stylistically very different. Through the Peacock Ridge and Circumstance wines we have always tried to allow these vineyards to express there individuality.
 
Rather than following a certain style, for example a Bordeaux blend, we blended a wine that we feel represents Waterkloof.

Growing Season 2010/11
A growing season which will be remembered as one of the most dry and windy on record in the Schapenberg area. May and June was very cold and vines could accumulate enough cold units for effective budburst. Rainfall for the winter months was well below average. The dry weather continued into spring and summer with very little rainfall measured from middle November. The dry, windy conditions kept production levels very low on all varietals. Berries were very small with thick skins. Acidity levels were also very low due to the dry, hot summer and grapes were harvested about a week to two weeks earlier than normal.

about the harvest: Grapes are picked early in the morning when they are still cool which helps to preserve the flavours.

in the cellar : We mainly rely on tasting the grapes to determine the optimum stage of flavour development. Extracting juice from the grape skins is achieved through pressing the whole bunches. This is the most delicate way to extract the juice. After a settling of 24 hours, the juice is racked to the fermentation tanks. We allow the yeast occurring naturally on the grapes to start and complete the fermentation. A portion (50%) of the grapes were fermented in old 600 litre barrels. After a very slow fermentation, the wine was left on the primary lees up to bottling in early January 2011. This helped to add more complexity and weight to the palate.

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OTHER VINTAGES

Waterkloof Circle of Life White 2011
Sauvignon Blanc
Waterkloof Circle of Life White 2010
Sauvignon Blanc
Waterkloof Circle of Life White 2009
Sauvignon Blanc