Saboteur 2024 White Blend
As the Luddite Saboteur White gains more following, we continue to grow this wine always keeping quality in mind. For the first time, a small amount of Semillon has been included in the blend keeping things exciting. Harvest was split in the middle by a week of very warm weather. We were lucky to get most of the grapes in for this wine before the heatwave which keeps our style of being fresh, but still full-bodied with lots of texture.
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 whole-bunch pressed and pumped directly to barrel without settling to ferment. All the components spent 11 months in old French Oak barrels with regular batonnage.
We racked and blended the 4 cultivars, always having food and drinkability in mind. The 2024 blend is 73% Chenin Blanc, 15% Blanc Fumé, 10% Viognier and 2% Semillon. We hope that we have continued to achieve our goal which is to have a serious, well-structured yet refreshingly fruity white wine. Easy to drink on the terrace and just as much fun with a serious meal.
Grapes were sourced from six vineyard sites: Bot River, Wildekrans Chenin Blanc harvested 26th January 2024 Bot River, Barton Chenin Blanc harvested 31st January 2024 Standford, Standford Hills Chenin Blanc harvested 9th February 2024 Bot River, Gabriëlskloof Viognier harvested 13th February 2024 Bot River, Escape Wines Semillon harvested 23rd February 2024 Elgin, Elgin Ridge Sauvignon Blanc harvested 27th February 2024
Average analysis of fruit at harvest 21.4° Balling, TA – 6.8 g/l, pH – 3.26
Tasting Notes Appearance: Pale straw with golden hues. Nose: Peach, apricot, floral, lime blossom and apple tones. Palate: Fresh entry with rich mid-palate and a touch of grapefruit pithiness from skin contact with a hint of ginger and lime with a pinch of salt.
Analysis of the wine Alcohol: 12.68% pH: 3.32 TA: 6.2 g/l RS: 1.7 g/l
19 400 bottles of this vintage were produced (crown cap) Tasting notes dated 27th Feb 2025.
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