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Paul Cluver 'Close Encounter' Riesling 2014

Wonderfully fragrant – concentrated fruit and floral notes. Lots of mango, orange and frangipangi with sweet melon and pineapple freshness. Lovely lime and lemongrass finish.

Quite a versatile wine and a welcome alternative for the Sauvignon blanc- and Chardonnay- weary palates. Works well with spicy food and is great with sushi. Carpaccio and beef tartar are interesting partners too.

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variety : Riesling [ 100% Riesling ]

winery : Paul Cluver Family Wine Estate

winemaker : Andries Burger

wine of origin : Elgin

analysis : alc : 9.2 % vol rs : 34.4 g/l pH : 2.88 ta : 8.4 g/l

type : White style : Sweet body : Medium taste : Fruity

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

ageing : Will age beautifully.

Paul Cluver Wines currently makes three styles of Riesling wines. In addition to Close Encounter Riesling, a drier style Riesling and a dessert wine is also made. This is the 5th release of Close Encounter Riesling.

Name
At at time when Riesling was a particularly difficult wine to sell, it was considered to pull out all the Riesling vineyards, luckily we did not. Since then, there has been a renewed interest world wide in this noble grape variety, and 8.2 hectares of new Riesling vineyards have been planted.

in the vineyard : We currently have a total of 12.9 hectare of Riesling i.e. Weisser Riesling planted on the estate – making us the biggest single Riesling grower in South Africa. The oldest vines were planted in 1987 – the most recent in 2006. The soil is predominantly Bokkeveld Shale and or light clay with a ‘ferricrete’ top layer (surficial sand and gravel masses). Vine orientation is East/West on North west facing slopes with an average gradient of 1:7. Height above sea level is 300 – 400 meters.

about the harvest: 2014 was a cool vintage – cooler than average. Harvesting of grapes took place at night – starting at midnight. Harvesting of the Rieslings took place between 18 – 21 March. Grapes were picked between 20.8 -22.5 °B.

in the cellar : In addition to vineyard sorting, a second stage of bunch and berry sorting occurs at the cellar to eliminate all traces of rot. Skin contact prior to fermentation is done to extract flavor and reduce acidity – duration varies. This year it was for 8 hours. Pressing is always gentle. Only free run juice is fermented. After settling, the juice is fermented. This particular Riesling was made using a yeast strain known for slow, cool fermentation. Fermentation was stopped at the desired sugar level after which the wine was racked, stabilized and prepared for bottling.

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