in the vineyard : It was an unusual year with a long cool ripening period followed by a early February heat wave which meant vines struggled and grapes needed to hang out there longer to get properly ripe. The Chenin benefited from early morning and night harvesting and the wine is now seeing the benefits of more judicious handling.
Grapes harvested from vines ageing from 9-25 years, where most of the grapes come from the older vines. This vineyard location on the southern slopes facing the coast, which provides a fresh cool sea breeze, seems tailor-made for flavourful Chenin Blanc. The fruit grows in the Coastal area which yields wines with an intensity of flavour and crispness not found in some of the more inland regions.
Following the sunny and dry weather at the final ripening stage the grapes were harvested at 22.8°B in February. A combination of trellised and bush vines are used, all of which are grown on a high southern (cooler) slope, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Soils consist of mainly deeper weathered granite. A choice of rootstocks R99 and 101-14 Mgt are used, depending on the potential of the particular soil. The average yields of these vines differ between 5-10 tonnes per hectare. This interaction of vine, site, soil, marine climate and cultivation (terroir) yields complexed fruit of outstanding quality.