in the vineyard : History & Vineyards
More than sixty years' experience has enabled us to identify single vineyards of exceptional potential in the area bordered to the North by Stellenbosch, Wellington in the North-East, the mountains of Franschoek and Drakenstein to the South-East and Durbanville & Philadelphia in the South and South-West.
When Boland Wine Cellar identified an opportunity to create "single vineyard" wines, they made an additional investment in the cellar setup in order to separately and appropriately vinify smaller parcels of grapes. This rich, complex cultivar is especially suited to the Mediterranean climate of the Paarl area with its shale and duplex soils.
The grapes used for this release come from one of two single vineyards at the foothills of Paardeberg , a massive sprawling granite hill close to Paarl. Each year, the better of the two vineyards will be selected. Both were planted in the 1990s, one early in the decade and the other towards the end.
The soils are deep, well-drained and shale-based with good aeration. This enables deep penetration for the roots to extract optimal nutrition, while retaining essential moisture. Both vineyards are trellised and receive supplementary irrigation. Canopy management techniques are intensive, although the wind allows for natural crop reduction during early flowering.
Production averages at 7 - 8 tons/ha. Green harvesting takes place to ensure even ripening and picking is done by hand in small picking bins.
in the cellar : Grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and cold macerated for up to two days at 10° - 14° C. Alcoholic fermentation is allowed to start spontaneously using the wild yeast on the skins of the grapes. This makes for a wine with a more natural, less manipulated expression of the season and terroir.
Fermentation temperatures fluctuate between 18° - 25° C. We use macro-oxidation techniques (emulating manual punch-downs of the cap) and regular pump-overs to extract colour and fruit while extended maceration after fermentation is allowed. All of the wine enjoys malolactic fermentation in small barrels (at least 80% American oak). We almost exclusively use new barrels, but experimentation with older barrels is ongoing. Further barrel maturation of 18 - 22 months is allowed.