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LAM Chenin Blanc Viognier 2011

Fresh fruit and acid dominate this Chenin Blanc (55%) and Viognier (45%) blend. Low alcohol and natural acid are key to ensuring that the wine will age.

On the nose a sense of coolness is the first impression, then the subtle fresh flavours of Chenin and Viognier become apparent. There are none of the typical waxy characters that one normally finds on a Swartland Viognier and Chenin Blanc.

variety : Chenin Blanc [ 55% Chenin Blanc, 45% Viognier ]
winemaker : Craig Hawkins
wine of origin : Swartland
analysis : alc : 12 % vol  rs : 23.1 g/l  pH : 3.27  ta : 7.9 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry   wooded
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  
AWARDS
88 - 90 Wine Advocate

ageing : 8 - 10 years
in the vineyard : Farmed dry-land, thus not irrigated. The Chenin vines are roughly 40 year old bush vines and the vineyard lies on a big bank of hard granite rock which naturally stresses the vines.

There is no specific recipe that we use; each vineyard block is treated according to its strengths and weaknesses. The grapes are hand harvested into small 20kg lugs in the early morning.The vines are farmed organically, the ultimate goal is to use biodynamic principles that work for us on our specific soils/climate.

about the harvest: 2011 was challenging in the fact that we had intense heat early on in January which created small berries that were packed with concentration but with much lower yields. Nevertheless both flavour and acidity were intensified which is evident in the high natural acidity of the wine.
in the cellar : The grapes were 100% whole bunch pressed in a small pneumatic or basket press.

Juice extraction was very low to retain optimal quality juice. No settling was carried out and no fining agents, enzymes, tannins, acid or SO2 were added at crushing. The juice was allowed to ferment in two 4500L INOX tanks at temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius thus no cooling was needed during fermentation.

The two wines were blended after going dry and racked off their thick lees, but a large amount of lees was still retained to feed the wine. Malolactic fermentation was carried out naturally, this was not a concern as the wine had a large enough natural acidity MLF.
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OTHER VINTAGES

LAM Chenin Blanc Viognier 2011
Chenin Blanc