Teddy Hall Dr Jan Cats Chenin Blanc Reserve 2012

4½ Stars - Platter Guide
Tim Atkin rated Teddy Hall Dr Jan Cats Chenin blanc Reserve 2011 94/100 and the Teddy Hall Dr Jan Cats Chenin blanc Reserve 2010 93 points and Wine Spectator rated it 91 points. This wine was selected as Top 100 SA Wines 2012 (as was the case with the previous vintage as Top 100 SA Wine 2011) and was a medal winner at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2012. Dr Jan Cats Chenin blanc Reserve 2011 - received 4½ stars Platter's 2014 wine.

ageing : pStill young, this wine will continue to improve for many years. However it will drink well at between three and five years old - so around 2016 to 2018./p

Originally planted in 1986, the Chenin blanc bush vines are well suited to the broken shale soils on this unique hillside site in the Koelenhof hills. Irrigation is provided by means of overhead sprinklers only when truly needed, but the vineyard is in essence a dry land one. As a result the average yield is a relatively low 5 tons per hectare - but the quality is superb!

Originally planted in 1986, the Chenin blanc bush vines are well suited to the broken shale soils on this unique hillside site in the Koelenhof hills. Irrigation is provided by means of overhead sprinklers only when truly needed, but the vineyard is in essence a dry land one. As a result the average yield is a relatively low 5.1 tons per hectare - but the quality is superb!

Once the sugar levels or ripeness had reached 25.4° Balling the grapes were picked. That Acidity was recorded at an average of 7.5g/l.

As is standard practice, the grapes arrived at the winery in the early morning - before the fruit warmed up with the heat of the day. Only the free run juice was used for this Reserve wine. It was settled overnight in stainless steel tank. The clear juice and fluffy lees was racked off first thing the next morning, directly into French oak barriques - and left to start fermenting on its own. No commercial yeasts were used. The barriques were topped up two months after the fermentation stopped. They were then tightly sealed until just a few days before bottling when I tasted through the barrels to make my selection. The oak was 35% new with the remainder a combination of second and third-fill. Depending on the vintage conditions, the wine spends between 8 and 14 months in barrique.