KWV The Mentors Petit Verdot 2011

This is a concentrated red wine with aromas of pencil shavings, flowers and herbs, and subtle nuances of mocha and sweet spice. The palate is rich and juicy with upfront fruit sweetness. The angular tannin structure is well integrated and complements the intense, lingering finish.

Winemaker's Comments:
With this wine we pay tribute to one of South Africa’s greatest red grape varietals (always the bridesmaid, never the bride) commonly used in blends where it contributes structure, colour and intensity.

We took all these varietal attributes and combined them with grape growing and winemaking techniques, like customized tannin management and maturation specific to the varietal. These practices ensured maximum display of fruit flavours, enabling the wine to stand alone as a formidable Petit Verdot. The extreme dedication in crafting this wine predicts an exceptional year for Petit Verdot.

Consider rich cuts of red meat, well-aged cheese or wild game as a food partner to this richly concentrated wine.

variety : Petit Verdot [ 100% Petit Verdot ]

winery : The Mentors

winemaker : The Winemaking Team

wine of origin : Coastal Region

analysis : alc : 14.31 % vol rs : 3.09 g/l pH : 3.48 ta : 6.05 g/l

type : Red body : Full wooded

pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork

AWARDS

Veritas Wine Awards - Gold
International Wine and Spirits Competition 2013 - Silver
Mundus Vini 2013 - Gold
Niche Red Variety - Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2013 - Best Niche Red Variety
Decanter World Wine Awards 2013 - Commended

ageing : This wine is ready to be enjoyed now, but will cellar well over the next eight to ten years.br /

in the vineyard : Vineyards:
85% Stellenbosch, 15% Paarl

Vintage conditions:
The 2011 harvest in the Western Cape was warmer and dryer than normal, resulting in lower yields, smaller bunches and consequently riper flavours. These seasonal conditions produced sound, fully ripe and healthy grapes with resultant wines rich, soft and generous in flavour.

Treatment in the vineyards:
This vineyard is planted on a slope of shale in the foothills of Stellenbosch Mountain. A distinguishing aspect of this vineyard is that it grows very slowly through the season and has just enough growth to ripen the crop to the desired point. Yields are low and concentration of flavours is achieved due to the exceptional vine balance. Tempered by south-easterly winds during the growing season, this vineyard has great character that is reflected in the wine.

Soil in the Western Cape comprises ancient (350 million to 500 million years old) weathered soils of alluvial and volcanic origin. The alluvial soils are from both glacial and marine deposits. Some of the origins of the weathered soils are Table Mountain Sandstone, Granite and Malmesbury Shale. These have eroded over millennia and are now generally clay rich loam soils, which are most desirable for their ability to retain water for plant during summer months

about the harvest: Machine and hand harvested.

in the cellar : Wine making:
Grapes were harvested optimally ripe and hand sorted in the cellar to ensure only the best fruit is used for fermentation. After two days of cold maceration the juice was inoculated with a selected yeast strain. Alcoholic fermentation lasted approximately six days and during that time was pumped over every five hours. Wine was racked off the skins, settled and transferred to barrels where malolactic fermentation took place for three weeks. The wine was then racked and cleaned, and returned to barrels for maturation. During maturation, the wine was racked twice.

Maturation:
The wine was matured for 18 months in oak barrels of which 60% was first-fill.

Total production:
4 200 Bottles

Bottling date:
January 2013

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