Cellarmaster's Impressions
Although not a full-ripe style, the wine is fruity, with gooseberry, passion fruit, ripe apple and hints of dry wild grass in the background. While slightly less minerality than normal came from this vineyard, the wine has good intensity on the nose and a bigger body than in other years. Wines are full, with good intensity and high natural acids.
Connoisseur's Choice A refreshing aperitif wine, perfect with salads, sea-foods, sea-food pasta and spicy foods such as Chinese and Thai dishes.
variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Edmund Terblanche
wine of origin : Walker Bay
analysis : alc : 12.82 % vol rs : 1.7 g/l pH : 3.30 ta : 6.6 g/l
type : White style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity organic
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : This wine forms part of the premium range which is a tribute to South African artist Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (1886 – 1957), famous for his mastership in portraying the unadorned beauty of the South African landscape and its architecture. Each new release in the range reflects a different piece of Pierneef art on its label.
Origin
This is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc wine, made from the ninth production of grapes from one vineyard in the Walker Bay area close to the town of Bot River. The slope faces south-west and lies about ten kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean.
Vintage
The season started with a dry winter and high water levels in soils as well as in dams. This resulted in good budding, approximately two weeks later than normal. During November, wind caused slight damage. During December it was hot, but closer to harvest-time, night temperatures were noticeably lower, a condition that probably contributed towards high natural acids, promoting quality.
Viticulture
Plant material is from the clone SB11, grafted on rootstock Richter 99. Plant width is 2,7 x 1,2 metres and the vineyard is trellised and irrigated. The block was planted in 2001 and is organically managed. With medium potential soils, together with strong winds and the elimination of fertilizers, conditions for the vines are very challenging, producing fruit with a good flavour concentration.
in the cellar : Fruits were transported to the La Motte cellar in a refrigerated truck. After de-stalking, the grapes were cold-soaked for sixteen hours. Fermentation of twenty days in stainless steel tanks was at 14 degrees Celsius. The wine was left on the lees for five months before being bottled at La Motte in August 2013. Only 7 500 cartons (6 x 750 ml) were bottled.