variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 75% Merlot & 25% Cabernet Sauvignon ]
winemaker : Anri Truter
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 14 % vol rs : 3.6 g/l pH : 3.65 ta : 5.3 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Medium taste : Fragrant wooded
pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Screwcap
in the vineyard : We had a dry winter and spring but still with relatively normal cold units. Budding of the vineyards started slightly earlier than normal due to a warm start to spring, with ideal growth conditions up until the last month of the year. In December, we had much-needed rain which helped with the vineyards’ water reserves before harvest. The bad news was that, in December and early Jan, there was high disease pressure in the vineyards. The harvest started 7 days earlier than 2022 at the Beyerskloof cellar, with Pinotage and Pinot Noir being the first grapes picked. February flew by with everything being ripe at the same time, and by the end of the month, all the Pinotage was in the cellar. The end of February and March brought a lot of rain, and it made it very difficult to decide when the optimum time to harvest our Merlot and Cabs was
about the harvest: In the end, we had to make hard calls during the end of the harvest, but we are pleased with the quality of the late cultivars. This was by far the wettest and most challenging harvest of my career in terms picking the grapes at optimum ripeness. Even though it was one of the most
challenging vintages, we still had an above-average yield and great wines in the cellar!
in the cellar : Different systems of skin contact and fermentation in open fermenters, roto tanks, and fermentomatics. 6 to 8 days on skins at 25°C. Aer malolactic fermentation, the wine was treated with little oak.