in the cellar : In contrast to the previous vintage, 1998 produced more grapes which were harvested at optimum ripeness and thus with a better sugar content compared to the rest of the components. The latter is a very important feature for producing high quality Chardonnay and is also an indication that it was a good vintage for this variety. The grapes came from vineyards in three different areas, namely Paardeberg, Northern Wellington and the slopes of the Drakenstein mountains. The blocks were specially selected and vary from eight to twelve years old, with a yield of eight to ten tons per hectare.
Because of the good structure and full ripeness of the grapes, the style was altered a little bit with the 1998 vintage. A percentage wood (80%) was used wiith fermetnation and maturation, in small French oak barrels. After malo-lactic fermentation in the barrells, which lasted 16 weeks, the wine matured on its lees for antoger 8 months, while stirring each barrel every forth night. Before bottling the minimum fining and filtering was applied.