variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]
winemaker : Hannes Nel
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 3 g/l pH : 3.22 ta : 7.1 g/l
type : White style : Off Dry body : Full taste : Fruity
pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Altitude: 200m above sea level, and close to the Lourens River.
Age of vines: 6 - 10 years
Rootstock: 101 - 14 Mgt
Clones: CY95, CY548, CY 951
Slopes: Situated on a slight Western facing slope
Row direction: South-West to North-East
Soil type: Tukulu soil
about the harvest: A cool winter allowed the vines to go into proper dormancy. We were expecting a very different scenario with the cool start to Spring and early Summer which we thought would delay the start of harvest. Then, suddenly, the heat rose in early January and again in early February. However, for the most part, February and march were relatively mild, making for long, slow and very beneficial ripening. What also enhanced quality was the drop in night temperatures that in some cases were 1. 5-2 C lower compared with the average for February. This helped the fruit to retain aromas and flavours. The harvest date were between the 7th and 9th of March 2012
in the cellar : Cultivar: 100% Chardonnay
Wood: 66% of the wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and moved to barrels halfway through the fermentation process 34% was fermented naturally in barrels. All of the wine was then aged in 100% new Burgundain oak barrels and spent 9 months on its primary lees with intermittent barrel rolling to stir up the lees and release the manno-proteins in the yeast cells that adds flavour and structure to the final wine.