Quest Rhône Blend

ageing : 

10 - 12 years

For this premium wine range Du Toitskloof selects grapes from various vineyards in the Western Cape chosen to meet the Cellar Master’s requirements in creating a profile for each specific vintage. We travel through different wine regions searching for the ultimate vineyard blocks, finding some gems along the way. Each vineyard offers a unique fingerprint aimed at our quest to create wines of individual character with an own personality.

From these low-yield terroir-specific sites only the best grapes were selected and handpicked at optimum physiological ripeness to ensure fine, pure fruit reaching the winery.

The vinification consists of exposing two parcels of fruit to separate methods of open tank fermentation. The first method is a “softer” approach with aerated pump-overs, ensuring the extraction of deep colour and softer tannins while embodying the wine with an intriguing spiciness. The other parcel was picked later and vinified using the traditional punch-down method. The fermentation cap was punched down four times a day, resulting in more robust tannins as well as excellent structure and concentration. The wines were blended, undergoing malolactic fermention in new French oak barrels wherein the maturation also took place.

Barrel-tastings were done every six months where we focused on the wine’s interaction with the new wood, and the wine was racked three times over the 24-month maturation period. The final blend was 70% Shiraz and 30% Mouvèdre.