Normal service resumed, after the fuller, richer 2020, we are back to the leaner style of previous vintages. We still continue to have skin contact time for the Chenin and Viognier for half the fermentation. We then pressed, taking as much lees and sediment to barrel to complete the fermentation. This gives the wine great weight and texture with our regular batonnage. We also did a small portion of tank fermentation Chenin Blanc for extra primary fruit. The Sauvignon Blanc, as per normal practice, is pressed directly to barrel without settling to ferment. All the components spent 11 months in French Oak barrels of which the majority were old. We left all the wine on gross lees with regular batonnage to flesh out the wine. We racked and made up the blend and the only time we added SO2 was to protect the wine for the bottling process.
We blended the 3 components, always having food and drinkability in mind. The 2021 blend is 66% Chenin Blanc, 17% Viognier and 17% Blanc Fumé. We hope that we have continued to achieve our goal which is to have a serious, well-structured yet refreshingly fruity white wine.
Grapes were sourced from four vineyard sites:
- Bot River, Barton Chenin Blanc harvested 10th February 2021
- Bot River, Gabriëlskloof Viognier harvested 10th February 2021
- Elgin, Elgin Ridge Sauvignon Blanc harvested 28th February 2021
- Bot River, Stuart Vineyards Chenin Blanc harvested 3rd March 2021
Average analysis of fruit at harvest
21.2° Balling, TA – 7.4 g/l, pH – 3.28
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Pale straw with glints of green.
Nose: Orange blossom, peach and apricot.
Palate: White peaches and green plums on entry. A broad, lean mid-pallet with a salty, citrus finish.
Analysis of the wine
Alcohol: 12.67% pH: 3.31 TA: 6.9 g/l RS: 2.5 g/l
9 940 bottles of this vintage were produced (crown cap)
Tasting notes dated 7th Mar 2022.
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