in the vineyard : Sauvignon Blanc - With an average age of 10 years, these vines are grown at an altitude of between 225 and 275 metres above sea-level on soils originating from Table Mountain sandstone. All of the vines are grafted onto nematode resistant Richter 99 rootstocks and are trellised on five wire fence systems. Cultivated under dry-land conditions, the yield from these vines is naturally low at below 6.5 tonnes per hectare and give good intensity of fruit.
Chenin Blanc - At over twenty years of age, these vines are at full maturity and bear very characteristic grapes with great complexity. Cultivated as bush vines on deep Hutton soils, no irrigation is usually necessary and the vines yeild a low seven tones per hectare.
in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the juice was immediately separated from the skins to prevent over extraction of harsh phenols and settled in stainless steel tanks for 24 hours. Fermentation was induced with the addition of specific yeast strains and continued for 20 days at between 14 and 16ºC in closed stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wines were racked from their primary lees and left to settle for a further three months before being blended at a ratio of 69% Sauvignon Blanc to 31% Chenin Blanc. A light bentonite fining was given to the wine in order to achieve stability before being bottled on 10 August 1999.