in the vineyard : Noble late harvest wines, renowned for their lusciuos honeyed flavours, can only be made when climatic conditions occur that are favourable to the incidence of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). The grapes for the 1996 Zonnebloem Noble late Harvest were made from a single vineyard stock in the Stellenbosch region, where virtually 40% of the crop was affected by the fungus.
in the cellar : After picking, the grapes were placed in a tank press and allowed to swell overnight. Left on the skins for 6 hours, the free-run juice was cooled before fermentation. Racking, clarification and filtering followed, with the wine left to mature for nearly 3 years in the bottle, allowing its luscious taste to intensify.