This is the second addition of the Saboteur White Blend. I think the follow-up has just as much structure, texture, balance and flavour spectrums as the successful 2015. We were overwhelmed by the response to our new packaging and new crown closure and hopefully the 2016 will be received with as much excitement.
The 2016 harvest was particularly hot and dry and the Chenin Blanc was affected the most with crops down by 80%. This is the first time we have sourced Chenin Blanc from Villiersdorp. The Chenin Blanc and Viognier were fermented naturally on skins for a period of 20 days and then pressed and taken to barrel with as much sediment as possible. The Blanc Fumé portion was fermented in barrel and batonaged to get rid of as much Sauvignon Blanc characteristics as possible. All the components spend 6 months in old French Oak barrels. At no stage was anything added to this wine. We racked and made up the blend and the only time we added SO2 was to protect the wine for the bottling process.
The blend differs slightly this year as there is no Chardonnay component. The final blend is 66% Chenin Blanc, 23% Blanc Fumé and 11% Viognier. We feel that we are still achieving our goal which is to have a serious, well-structured yet refreshing white wine.
Grapes were sourced from four vineyard sites:
Bot River, Luddite Chenin Blanc harvested on 10th February 2016
Bot River, Wildekrans Chenin Blanc harvested on 4th March 2016
Overberg, Avondson Chenin Blanc harvested on 23rd February 2016
Elgin, Oneiric Blanc Fumé harvested on 17th February 2016
Overberg, Kempsrivier Viognier harvested on 10th March 2016
Average analysis of fruit at harvest
21.5° Balling, TA – 6.8 g/l, pH – 3.3
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Light straw.
Nose: Luscious white peaches and pears. Hints of white beach stone.
Palate: Flinty on entry. A mouthful of fruit. Lingering peaches with a grippy grapefruit after taste.
Analysis of the wine
Alcohol: 13.0% pH: 3.4 TA: 5.2 g/l RS: 2.1 g/l