This Cabernet has inviting flavours of blackberry and youngberry with hints of cocoa, almond and vanilla.
Serve with Roast beef, grilled lamb chops, Ostrich, casseroled poultry, tuna or pasta.
variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 100% Cabernet Sauvignon ]
winemaker : Wynand Hamman
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 12.94 % vol rs : 1.3 g/l pH : 3.59 ta : 5.5 g/l
type : Red style : Dry wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Vineyard blocks: Seven different vineyard blocks, D1, D2, D3, D8, L1, L5, L7.
Area: 14,75 ha in total
Crop size: 169 tons
Tons per ha: 11,4 t/ha
Altitude: 160m – 336m
Age of vines: 7 (L1, L5, L7), 6 (D1, D2, D3, D8)
Rootstock: Richter 110 (L7), rest all 101/14.
Clones: CS10, CS13C, CS20C, CS27A, CS163
Soil: Alluvial sandy clay (L1, L5, L7), Red deep decomposed granite (D1, D2, D3, D8)
Plant direction: N/S.
Trellising: 5-wire Perold system. Sufficient to accommodate the vigour of the vines and to ensure good distribution of shoots, leaves and bunches.
Density: 3,500 vines per ha on average.
Space between rows: 1,8m (L1,L7), 2,4m (L5) rest all 3m.
Space between vines: 1,2m (L1,L7) rest all 1m.
Irrigation: Micro spitters controlled by computer system through moisture meters and tensiometers. This enables stress management of the vines to produce optimum fruit quality. This is done in accordance with the water retention ability of the specific vineyard block.
Canopy management: Optimal balance between vigour and crop load is achieved by pruning through the correct number of bearer eyes (2). Summer manipulation in the form of suckering, shoot thinning and positioning, complement the winter pruning.
in the cellar : The grapes were destemmed and crushed at the winery and pumped to the top compartments of combi-tanks. Fermentation took place on the skins to extract colour and flavour. A yeast strain selected from vineyards in Bordeaux was used. The fermentation took place at a controlled temperature of between 26°C and 28°C and the juice was pumped over the skins three times a day to cool the cap as well as to enhance flavour and to benefit colour extraction. After fermentation the wine was left on the skins for 3 weeks before it was drained off and the skins pressed. The wine then underwent malolactic fermentation in the tanks. Afterwards the wine was sulphured and left to settle before it was pumped to new, 2nd, and 3rd fill French oak barrels for a wood-maturation period of 24 months.