Thelema Rabelais 2008
Rabelais is a blend of the best Bordeaux components within our Thelema range from the 2008 vintage. During our annual vintage review individual barrels are identified and earmarked for the Rabelais blend, which is complex, elegant and structured. Extraordinary concentrations of luscious dark berries and cedar wood on the nose complemented by a lovely sweet fruit character on the palate. The wine finishes long and firm. Will reward cellaring.
variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 9% Merlot ]
winemaker : .
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.76 % vol rs : 0.9 g/l pH : 3.87 ta : 5.1 g/l
type : Red style : Dry wooded
pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon (79%) - CS 338C. Petit Verdot (12%) - Clone PV 219A. Merlot (9%) - Clone MO 192/434
Root stock: 101-14 and R99
Soil type: Hutton - decomposed granite
Age of vines: Planted 2002/2003 & 1988
Plant density: 2000 and 2110 vines per hectare respectively
Trellising: Vertical hedge
Pruning: 2-bud spurs every 12cm
Yield: 6,6 tons/ha (Cab S), 6.1 ton / ha (PV ),11 tons per ha (Merlot)
Irrigation: supplementary drip
Vintage: Warm spells of weather, with a few rainy periods during the ripening period.
about the harvest: Picking date: 11th March (Cabernet), 17th March (PV) & 4th March (Merlot)
Grape sugar: 25.4 balling (Cabernet), 25.29 balling (PV) & 25.4 balling (Merlot)
Acidity: 4.17 g/l (Cabernet) 4.65g/l (PV) 4.02 g/l (Merlot)
pH at harvest: 3.63 (Cabernet) 3.99 (PV) & 3.64 (Merlot)
in the cellar : Yeasts: Natural occurring yeasts
Fermentation temp: 27° Celsius
Method: De-stalked, hand sorted, crushed, pumped into stainless steel fermentation tanks, cold soak for two days, and pumped over twice a day for 5 days, an aerated pump over in the morning and a closed circulation in the afternoon. After fermentation the wine is left on the skins for 2 days before pressing, once pressed wine is racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation.
Wood maturation: 20 months in 80% new 225 litre French oak barrels
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