Saboteur 2022 White Blend
Eight years of Luddite Saboteur White with 2022 being a more rich and riper vintage, but still with lovely freshness on the palate. We continue to have skin contact on the Chenin and Viognier to give some tannin, texture and structure to the wine. Both varietals spent 10 days on skins with morning and evening punch-downs. We then pressed, taking as much lees and sediment to barrel to complete the fermentation. We also did a small portion of tank fermentation Chenin Blanc for extra primary fruit. The Sauvignon Blanc is pressed directly to barrel without settling to ferment. All the components spent 7 months in old French Oak barrels with regular batonnage.
We racked and blended the 3 components, always having food and drinkability in mind. The 2022 blend is 71% Chenin Blanc, 15% Viognier and 14% 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 three vineyard sites:
Bot River, Barton Chenin Blanc harvested 17th February 2022
Bot River, Gabriëlskloof Viognier harvested 23rd February 2022
Elgin, Elgin Ridge Sauvignon Blanc harvested 24th February 2022
Average analysis of fruit at harvest
22.0° Balling, TA – 6.8 g/l, pH – 3.36
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Pale straw in colour with golden hues.
Nose: Orange blossom, almond and peach.
Palate: Stone fruits on entry. A rich mouthfeel with a salty, citrus finish.
Analysis of the wine
Alcohol: 12.56% pH: 3.36 TA: 6.1 g/l RS: 1.6 g/l
10 500 bottles of this vintage were produced (crown cap & 499 magnums)
Tasting notes dated 7th November 2022.
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