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Elgin Vintners 'The Century' Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012

This second vintage of the Elgin Vintners Sauvignon Blanc Semillon presents upfront aromas of guavas with restrained notes of delicate honeysuckle and spiced pears on the nose. The palate delivers on expectation and combines both a femininity and core of minerality. An intriguing wine, displaying layers of fruit completed by a well- rounded and creamy mouthfeel.

variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 68% Sauvignon Blanc, 32% Semillon ]
winery : Elgin Vintners
winemaker : Joris van Almenkerk
wine of origin : Elgin
analysis : alc : 14.12 % vol  rs : 1.2 g/l  pH : 3.50  ta : 5.1 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry  body : Full  taste : Fruity   wooded
pack : Bottle  size : 750ml  closure : Cork  
AWARDS
Silver Medal - International Wine and Spirit Competition 2013
Gold Medal - Michelangelo International Wine Awards, SA 2013
Bronze Medal - Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2013
Diamond Award: White Wine Blends Category - Winemakers' Choice Awards 2012
Silver Medal - Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2012
Commended - International Wine Challenge 2012
Commended - Decanter World Wine Awards 2012

ageing : Whilst this wine drinks extremely well now it is expected to develop even greater complexity with further maturation.

The grapes for our Second Edition of the Elgin Vintners Sauvignon Semillon blend have been sourced exclusively from Eikenhof Farm, the BWI Champion farm within the Elgin Vintners partnership. It has been named “The Century” in honour of Douglas Moodie, of Eikenhof, who turned 100 years in September 2011. He witnessed the evolution of the Elgin Valley since 1930 and it was his far reaching vision which we wish to salute with this wine. He unfortunately passed away in 2013.
in the vineyard : 

The grapes for our Second Edition of the Elgin Vintners Sauvignon Semillon blend have been sourced exclusively from Eikenhof Farm, the BWI Champion farm within the Elgin Vintners partnership. It has been named “The Century” in honour of Douglas Moodie, of Eikenhof, who turned 100 years in September 2011.

The four year old Semillon vineyard (Clone GD1) is planted on a south westerly slope and yielded 3 tons per hectare. Due to the medium-high potential soil, the vines are planted 2,5 m x 1,5 m apart and are VSP trained on a fence trellis system. A light leaf plucking in the bunch zone to improve canopy aeration resulted in the grapes being botrytis free, a fungal disease for which Semillon is very susceptible.

The Sauvignon Blanc (Clone SB316) vineyard grafted onto rootstock 101 -14 Mgt is on a high altitude (500m) southerly slope and yielded 8 tons per hectare. The VSP trained trellis system allows adequate shoot length to ripen the crop load without showing any signs of moisture stress. A leaf plucking in the bunch zone soon after berry set enhanced the aromatic fruit flavours of the grapes.
about the harvest: Harvest dates: Semillon - 12th February; Sauvignon Blanc: 1st March 2012
in the cellar : Vinified by Joris van Almenkerk at Almenkerk Wine Estate in Elgin.

A blend of 68% Sauvignon Blanc and 32% Semillon

The grapes arrived cool and were destemmed and crushed straight into the press, protecting it from oxidation by the use of dry ice and a specialised inert press. After racking, the juice was inoculated with selected yeast (VIN13) and fermented at low temperature for over 2 weeks. Thereafter it was allowed lees contact for ten weeks. After a light bentonite fining, the wine was racked under a carbon dioxide blanket to the final pro-bottling tank. Bottling took place on 30 Sept 2011. Minimal interference, minimal sulfurs (<90ppm), this wine is a perfect example of reductive winemaking.
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