This wine has a bright green hue and has abundant tropical fruit flavours of passion fruit, grapefruit and guava on the nose. The fruit follows through on the palate, giving it richness and resulting in full well balanced mouth feel that ends with a crisp dry acidity.
A great summer cooler; a food-loving wine that adores seafood, especially sushi; smoke trout salads and delicious with Chicken Endive salad. Grilled shrimp with avo and grapefruit.
in the vineyard : The De Grendel vineyards are situated 7 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean, growing on slopes 200 meters above sea level. Crop levels on Sauvignon Blanc are ± 7.5 tons per hectare. Soil type: Well drained broken shale.
This year will be remembered for the extreme dry weather conditions. The average temperature was generally slightly higher, peaking with a heat wave between véraison (the onset of ripening) and picking in January. February, normally the scorcher, brought very mild, moderate conditions, reminiscent of a more European climate. We came prepared for the dry conditions though, relying on the supplementary irrigation on our farm and being very grateful for our close proximity to the ocean that protected our vines. This resulted in wines with intense fruit flavours. We introduced new technology in the vineyard to pinpoint water need per vine per block. Not only has our water use dropped by nearly 50% in the ripening season, optimum irrigation also resulted in a bigger crop of high quality.
about the harvest: Satellite images were used to classify the vineyards according to growing patterns. Picking times were established based on analysis, phenolic ripeness and flavor compositions. 9 Lots were vinified individually and blended afterwards to ensure complexity and depth. All fruit was handpicked in the early morning.
in the cellar : All fruit received skin contact according to ripeness and chemical composition. Only 600L per ton was recovered. Three days of settling, racking and inoculation with selected yeast cultures followed. Fermentation lasted between 14 and 22 days at ±13 °C and 100 days of full lees contact followed to ensure richness and a rounder mouth feel.