Graham Beck Ultra Brut 2017

Ultra Brut is the quintessence of the Graham Beck style. With a viridescent hue, this Cap Classique opens up with a lively bouquet of lemon zest and brioche notes. The rich, complex palate is perfectly balanced by fresh acidity and an exceptionally refined mousse – a benchmark of the 2017 vintage. Endowed with a deliciously creamy texture and a rewarding finish, this ultra-dry sparkling wine is ideal to drink now or in the next 5 or 8 years.

Ultra Brut is an exhilarating and rewarding food wine, pairing effortlessly with fresh oystersor langoustines.

variety : Chardonnay [ 67% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir ]
winery : Graham Beck
winemaker : Pieter Ferreira, Pierre de Klerk
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 12.9 % vol  rs : 2.4 g/l  pH : 3.21  ta : 6.5 g/l  
type : Cap_Classique  style : Dry  taste : Mineral   vegetarian
pack : Bottle  size : 0  closure : Cork  

AWARDS
2023 Tim Atkin SA Special Report - 93 Points
 

ageing : Graham Beck Ultra Brut 2017 is ideal to drink now or in the next 5 or 8 years.

Previously known as Brut Zero, this ultra-dry Cap Classique was crafted without the use of additional sugar in the dosage - the absence thereof allows the exceptional intrinsic qualities of the wine and its terroir to shine through more clearly. Ultra Brut is pure and honest – a true testimony of extraordinary fundamental excellence.

The Graham Beck Cap Classique craftsmen always maintain that making a sparkling wine with no sugar is like walking a tightrope, there are no room for errors. This unique style of wine can only be crafted in exceptional vintages and from only the highest quality cuvée juice that can sustain extended time on the lees (five to six years).

It joins the ranks of very few zero dosage sparkling wines, a category gaining in popularity amongst chefs, sommeliers, fashionistas, food enthusiasts and the health conscious.

in the vineyard : The fruit for this Cap Classique was hand-selected and hand-harvested from Chardonnay vineyard blocks grown on the limestone-rich soils on our Robertson Estate. This ensures a low pH and high natural acidity in the young base wine, which is essential for longevity. Yield was between 8-10 ton/ha.

about the harvest: The Chardonnay was hand-selected and hand-picked at 19.0 to 20.0 Brix during the third week of January.

Grapes were picked into lug boxes and then transferred to fruit bins for transport to the cellar, where the whole bunches were tipped into the presses and underwent a gentle and slow pressing cycle to extract the juice as softly as possible.

in the cellar : 

Only the highest quality cuvée juice selected for this wine. The juice settled for two days before it was moved for fermentation in stainless steel tanks at a regulated 15˚C, with a portion of the base wine fermented in older barrels to ensure a creamy texture on the palate. Secondary fermentation commenced in the bottle during the start of July 2017 and was disgorged in August 2022, it was left on the lees for 62 months.

find our wines in :

OTHER VINTAGES

Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir