in the vineyard : Seven leading vineyard owners in the Durbanville Hills district joined together to create Durbanville Hills together with Distell in order to promote the regional individuality of this prime wine growing area, which boasts a temperate climate, with Atlantic sea breezes cooling the vines during the summer months. Grapes for this brand, which has already attracted widespread positive attention both in South Africa and abroad, are sourced only from these growers, all of whom fall under the limited appellation of Durbanville. All member vineyards subscribe to IPW (Integrated Production of Wine) growing practices, designed to sustain natural resources. They are dryland vineyards, encouraging a process of natural selection. In addition, a meticulous crop control is applied to further limit yields and promote concentration of varietal flavour.
The grapes were sourced from six of the seven growers in the Durbanville Hills group. Three of these have high altitude vineyards grown on the south-east slopes of Hooge Bergs Valley and Hooggelegen and Hillcrest (the names indicating their lofty location), cooled by mists and Atlantic winds, where lower than average temperatures make for slow ripening and intense flavour retention. Low-lying, south-western facing vineyards on Maastricht, Bloemendal and Klein Roosboom were also harvested for grapes that would contribute a full-bodied character to the wine.
about the harvest: The grapes were hand picked at the end of February, at between 22° and 24° Balling and left on the skins for up to four hours before cold fermentation under a layer of carbon dioxide. The wine was left on the lees for almost three months, until shortly before bottling.