Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc 2003

The wine is a great reflection not only of our terroir but also of the vintage, there is slightly more green pepper, green figs on the nose with gooseberries and granadilla also coming through. The palate is full, rich, packed with flavour and with a mineral character at the end. The aftertaste is long and lingering.
This wine can be enjoyed with salads, seafood or on its own.


variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Andries Burger
wine of origin : Elgin
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol  rs : 1.5 g/l  pH : 3.28  ta : 6.6 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry  
pack : Bottle  size : 0  closure : 0  

AWARDS
Sauvignon Blanc 2003: Veritas 2003 - Bronze
Sauvignon Blanc 2002: Michelangelo International Wine Awards - Gold
Sauvignon Blanc 2001: International Wine Challenge 2002 (Bronze)
Sauvignon Blanc 1999: One of only 23 silver medals, four from SA awarded at the 2000 International Wine Challenge in UK (No gold medals awarded)
Sauvignon Blanc 1998: Chosen to fly on SAA First and Business Class
Sauvignon Blanc 1997: Merit Award at the 1999 International Wine Challenge
in the vineyard : Aspect: South, Southwest and West.
Hectares: 8.55
Planting date: 1988 to 1994
Clone: 215 and 216
Rootstock: 101-14 Mgt and Richter 99
Planting width: 2.5m by 1.0m
Average production over 3 years: 5 – 6 tons/ha
Harvest date: 11 - 20 February 2003

about the harvest: Only the best quality grapes in three different blocks of Sauvignon blanc vineyards are used for making the Paul Cluver Sauvignon blanc. The harvesting date is not only determent by chemical analysis but also by taste, this is done to ensure that we harvest at the optimum ripeness level.
Analysis at Harvest
Sugar: 22.7 – 23.5
Total acidity: 6.8 – 7.2 g/l
pH: 3.24

in the cellar : The 2003 vintage will be remembered as one of the best the Cape has seen in the past few years. In the cellar we aim to reflect not only the terrior but also the vintage. The grapes were handled reductively through all the winemaking phases to ensure that we capture all the crisp cool climate flavours in the bottle.
In the cellar we do not follow a recipe, decisions are made on an ongoing bases to ensure that we make the best possible wine in each vintage. We used a selection of yeasts known for their ability to bring out the characteristics of Sauvignon blanc. Further more do we keep our Sauvignon in as small as possible tanks, this gives us greater diversity and make the blending much more interesting. The wine was left on the lees for 4 months, adding richness and mouth feel to the wine.
Date of bottling: 13 June 2003

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