Bursting with gooseberry, green pepper and floral aromas, the wine expresses upfront varietal characters of Sauvignon Blanc. The palate has a juicy concentration and intensity of flavours, such as passion fruit, lemon grass and lime. The seamless palate ends with a crisp finish.
Enjoy this wine with roasted white meat dishes or fresh seafood dishes.
variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : The Winemaking Team
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 13.50 % vol rs : 1.67 g/l pH : 3.21 ta : 6.21 g/l
type : White style : Dry
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Vineyards: Bottelary Hills
Treatment in vineyard
Meticulous vineyard management of these trellised vines ensured fruit of outstanding quality that is expressive of both the Sauvignon Blanc cultivar and the terroir. Ripening was carefully monitored and collaboration between viticulturist and winemaker ensured that the grapes were picked at the optimum physiological ripeness.
Vintage conditions
The 2011 growing season will be remembered for its erratic weather changes, which posed several challenges to winemakers and viticulturist alike. A cold, but late 2010 winter preceded the growing season, providing much needed rest to the vineyards. The harvest season was characterized by a warm summer, and along with the lower than average rain fall this resulted in lower yield, smaller bunches and consequently riper flavours. Grape quality in general was superb, with the season delivering optimally ripe, healthy grapes, with great concentration.
in the cellar : The grapes for this Sauvignon Blanc are sourced from one of the most scenic vineyards in the Western Cape. The vineyards are situated on top of the Bottelary Hills and when standing in the vineyards you are rewarded with a magnificent and unique view of both the False Bay and Table Bay coasts. With such unique terroir characteristics, the grapes have a unique story to tell, which is reflected in the wine. It has always been the view of the winemaker and viticulturist that Sauvignon Blanc is made in the vineyards and this Sauvignon Blanc is a perfect showcase of this. This wine is a dedication to the many hours spent nurturing the grapes and the privilege to create a wine from one of the Cape's fantastic white varietals. Johann Fourie, the winemaker says, "For me one word explains this wine and that is 'balance'. My definition of a balanced wine is a wine that awakens or brings all your senses to life."
Wine making This wine was made using reductive processing from crushing to bottling. Crushing was slow and gentle to ensure that the grapes cooled down sufficiently to prevent oxidation of juice. Skin contact of 7 hours was allowed to reach the desired acidity level. Settling of juice was allowed for 48 hours, followed by careful racking to the fermentation tank. Fermentation was allowed at 16 - 18 ?C up to 3% alcohol level, this was done to promote thiol flavour conversion. Thereafter the wine was fermented at 12 - 13 ? C to preserve the fruit flavours. 15% of the wine was barrel fermented to enhance mouth feel and overall complexity. It was removed from barrel straight after fermentation and kept on lees in tank. The wine spent 50 days on the fermentation lees. The lees was stirred up once a week, to enhance the mouth feel of the wine.
Maturation: 15% fermented in 500L, 2nd and 3rd fill, barrels for approximately 1 month.
Total Production: 2 700L
Bottling Date: December 2011