De Grendel Op die Berg Chardonnay 2019

The slow ripening fruit produces wines of consistently distinctive character and expressive style. Crisp Granny Smith apple and ripe citrus aromas of Ruby grapefruit are permeated with soft layers of crème caramel and sweet orange marmalade. The flavours are lively, and the finish refined and rich with a long tail due to oaking and extended lees contact.

The Op die Berg Chardonnay is exceptionally well-suited to creamy pastas and grapefruit salads. The freshness of the wine also makes it ideal for mild, aromatic curries.

variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]

winery : De Grendel Wines

winemaker : Charles Hopkins & Elzette du Preez

wine of origin : Ceres

analysis : alc : 13.3 % vol rs : 1.3 g/l pH : 3.23 ta : 6.1 g/l

type : White style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Screwcap

ageing : Drink now to 2029

High on the Witzenberg Mountain range in Ceres, at an attitude of 960 meters above sea level, this unique ‘appellation’ exhibits South Africa’s only truly continental climate with winter temperatures frequently dropping below freezing. The daily temperature fluctuation at altitude, with cooler night time temperatures and hotter daytime temperatures during the growing season, results in slower ripening, and more concentrated fruit - especially during growing season of 2017, with the colder than usual night time temperatures resulting in the Ceres fruit showing surprisingly cooler climate characteristics in comparison to other regions of the Western Cape. All indications point to an excellent vintage.

in the vineyard : Well-drained, soft, yellow shale soils. In winter, the vineyard soil is often covered with a layer of snow which provides the perfect conditions for dormancy of the vines, a much-needed resting and recovery period before the growth season starts.

about the harvest: The grapes were handpicked at the break of dawn.

in the cellar : Handpicked at the break of dawn, carefully selected grapes are destemmed, crushed and lightly pressed at De Grendel with a recovery of only 650 litres per ton. After two days of settling, the juice is inoculated and transferred to 225 litre French Oak barrels for fermen-tation of which 1/3 is new,
1/3 is second fill and 1/3 is third fill. The wine is barrel aged ‘surlie’ for 6 months whilst undergoing ‘bâtonnage’. Bâtonnage is the method of stirring up the lees and takes place twice a week before malolactic fermentation and once a month after malolactic fermentation to enhance the mouth feel and structure of the wine.

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