Paul Cluver 'Close Encounter' Riesling 2015

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 : 9.07 % vol rs : 35.7 g/l pH : 3.4 ta : 8.0 g/l

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

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Screwcap

AWARDS

Close Encounter Riesling’13 – Decanter 2014 – Silwer
Close Encounter Riesling’13 – John Platter 2015 – 4stars
Close Encounter Riesling’13 – Tim Atkin – 93 points
Close Encounter Riesling’14 – Parker Points – 91 points

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: 2015 was very dry season but not warm, we experienced some of the coolest night temperatures of the past 8 years. Harvesting of grapes took place at night – starting at Ten O’clock in the evening. Due to the dry summer, harvesting was quite early, starting on the 18th of February and finishing the 2nd of March.

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.

Release date July 2015
Production 1400 cases (x12)

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