The 2011 Chardonnay offers a complexity of flavours, including ripe citrus overlaid with traces of clove, ginger, butterscotch and vanilla.
Smoked salmon, white fish, creamy pasta dishes, pork or chicken.
variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]
winemaker : Wynand Lategan
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 13.85 % vol rs : 2.3 g/l pH : 3.75 ta : 5.65 g/l
type : White style : Dry
pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Vineyard blocks: Seven different vineyard blocks, D4,D5,L3,L5,L10,L11 & L12
Area: 5.44 ha in total
Crop size: 50.17 tons
Tons per ha: 9.22 t/ha
Altitude: 166m – 375m
Age of vines: 18 (D4), 16 (D5), 10 (L11), 10 (L12), 18 (L5), 19 (L3), and 18(L10) years.
Rootstock: Richter 99, Mgt 101/14
Clones: CY8 (L5, L10), CY277/CY95A (L3, L11), CY 95 (L12), CY17B (D5) and PB54 (D4).
Soil: Deep well drained red (D5 and D4). Deep stony sand (L5, L10, L11, and L12) and medium deep well drained yellow (L3).
Plant direction: N/S
Trellising: 5-wire Perold system. Sufficient to accommodate the vigour of the vines and to ensure good distribution of shoots, leaves and bunches.
Density: 3,600 vines per ha on average.
Space between rows: 2,5m (L11, L12, L5), 1,8m (L3, L10), 2,1m (D4, D5).
Space between vines: 1,5m (L12), 1,2m (L3), 1m (D5).
Irrigation: Micro spitters controlled by computer system through moisture meters and tensiometers. This enables stress management of the vines to produce optimum fruit quality. This is done in accordance with the water retention ability of the specific vineyard block.
Canopy management: Optimal balance between vigour and crop load is achieved by pruning through the correct number of bearer eyes (2). Summer manipulation in the form of suckering; shoot thinning and positioning complement the winter pruning.
in the cellar : The grapes were picked between 22.5º and 24° Balling with whole bunches crushed without prior destemming to ensure a prominent fruit character as well as a well-rounded wine. After pressing, the juice was settled in stainless-steel tanks for 48 hours at 12-14°C before the clear juice was racked to French Oak Barrels. Each barrel was inoculated with different yeast strains. A third of the wine was fermented with natural yeasts. This ensures a "softer" wine with complexity. The barrels used on the Chardonnay were 40% new and 30% 2nd fill and 30% 3rd fill. About 25% of the Chardonnay was fermented in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation in the barrels, the wine stayed on the lees. The wine was sulphured and left to mature in the barrels for seven months. Batonnage was done every week for 6 months.