in the vineyard : The grapes came from vineyards on the south-westerly slope of Bothmaskop at the entrance to Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch. The vineyards, four years old at the time of harvesting and located about 400m above sea level, are planted in weathered granite and Tukulu type soils.
During the ripening period the climate varied considerably. November and December 1999 was fair to cool while January was very hot, with rain occurring every two weeks.
in the cellar : After the grapes had been destemmed and crushed, the mash underwent cold maceration at 18°C, being left on the skins for two days before fermentation.
After four days into the fermentation process, during which it was racked every eight hours, the must was drawn off and transferred to barrels in which fermentation continued at about 28°C. Thereafter the skins were gently pressed and the wine recovered in this way added to the free-run. Malolactic fermentation took place in the barrels.
The wine was aged for 18 months in a combination of new, and second and third-fill 300 litre barrels, all obtained from coopers in Bordeaux. In the case of the new barrels the staves were a combination of French and American oak.