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TASTING NOTES
Pale yellow in colour with a hint of green. On the nose, tinned pineapples, guavas, litchi, lemon and lime aromas are abundant. A clean, lively wine with nuances of nutmeg and cloves. Well-balanced and elegant, but with weight and a powerful follow-through on the palate. Stylistically off-dry and lightly oaked - this is an excellent food wine.
IN THE VINEYARD
Soil Type: Decomposed Malmesbury Shale
Age of vines: Various
Trellising: Bush vines and Trellis
Vine Density: 3 300 vines / ha
Yield: 7 - 8 tonnes per hectare
Irrigation: Yes, overhead and Drip
THE HARVEST
Picking date: February 2007
Grape Sugar: 23°B at harvest
Acidity: 6.0 g/l at harvest
pH at harvest: 3.50
IN THE CELLAR
This individual new-wave Chenin was made from low-crop Stellenbosch grapes. The grapes were harvested in the early morning to ensure coolness, crushed and lightly pressed; after which the must was cold settled before being inoculated with a select yeast culture. Eighty-nine percent of the wine was tank fermented while the remaining eleven percent underwent natural fermentation in barrel. The wine was matured for six months in a combination of new American and Hungarian oak and second fill French oak barrels. The wine was then slightly sweetened by blending some Sauvignon Blanc Noble Late Harvest with the wine, fined, lightly filtered and bottled.
Total production: 9,000 x 12
Fermentation temperature: 12 - 18°C
Wood ageing: Eleven percent of the wine was fermented and matured for six months in new American and Hungarian oak and second fill French oak barrels.
AGEING POTENTIAL
Up to 5 - 8 years.
BLEND INFORMATION
92% Chenin Blanc, 8% Sauvignon Blanc
FOOD SUGGESTIONS
Serve at 12 – 15°C. Arresting as a chilled apéritif, but can partner with shellfish; grilled tuna; lemon and herb roast chicken; vegetable stews; Bobotie – South African/Malay dish of baked savoury mince served with saffron rice; and lightly spiced dishes.
ACCOLADES
96 Vintage: SAA listing.
97 Vintage : **** Wine Magazine – February 1998 edition.
98 Vintage : **** Wine Magazine – February 1999 edition; judged a close second in the Wine Magazine’s 1999 Chenin Blanc Challenge out of the 91 wines submitted.
99 Vintage : *** Wine Magazine – February 2001 edition.
2001 Vintage : **** Wine Magazine – February 2002 edition.
2002 Vintage : 88 / 100 in USA Wine Spectator – April 2003 edition.
2003 Vintage: **** in John Platter. 2004 Vintage: 87/100 in USA Wine Enthusiast – November 2005.
2004 Vintage: 87/100 in USA Wine Enthusiast – November 2005.
2005 Vintage: **** SA Wine Magazine (February 2007); in the final eight of 2007 WINE Magazine FNB’S Private Client Chenin Blanc Challenge; **** in John Platter; 90/100 in USA Wine Spectator – January 2007 edition; Rated 88/100 by Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar (USA);
Pale yellow in colour with a hint of green. On the nose, tinned pineapples, guavas, litchi, lemon and lime aromas are abundant. A clean, lively wine with nuances of nutmeg and cloves. Well-balanced and elegant, but with weight and a powerful follow-through on the palate. Stylistically off-dry and lightly oaked - this is an excellent food wine.
IN THE VINEYARD
Soil Type: Decomposed Malmesbury Shale
Age of vines: Various
Trellising: Bush vines and Trellis
Vine Density: 3 300 vines / ha
Yield: 7 - 8 tonnes per hectare
Irrigation: Yes, overhead and Drip
THE HARVEST
Picking date: February 2007
Grape Sugar: 23°B at harvest
Acidity: 6.0 g/l at harvest
pH at harvest: 3.50
IN THE CELLAR
This individual new-wave Chenin was made from low-crop Stellenbosch grapes. The grapes were harvested in the early morning to ensure coolness, crushed and lightly pressed; after which the must was cold settled before being inoculated with a select yeast culture. Eighty-nine percent of the wine was tank fermented while the remaining eleven percent underwent natural fermentation in barrel. The wine was matured for six months in a combination of new American and Hungarian oak and second fill French oak barrels. The wine was then slightly sweetened by blending some Sauvignon Blanc Noble Late Harvest with the wine, fined, lightly filtered and bottled.
Total production: 9,000 x 12
Fermentation temperature: 12 - 18°C
Wood ageing: Eleven percent of the wine was fermented and matured for six months in new American and Hungarian oak and second fill French oak barrels.
AGEING POTENTIAL
Up to 5 - 8 years.
BLEND INFORMATION
92% Chenin Blanc, 8% Sauvignon Blanc
FOOD SUGGESTIONS
Serve at 12 – 15°C. Arresting as a chilled apéritif, but can partner with shellfish; grilled tuna; lemon and herb roast chicken; vegetable stews; Bobotie – South African/Malay dish of baked savoury mince served with saffron rice; and lightly spiced dishes.
ACCOLADES
96 Vintage: SAA listing.
97 Vintage : **** Wine Magazine – February 1998 edition.
98 Vintage : **** Wine Magazine – February 1999 edition; judged a close second in the Wine Magazine’s 1999 Chenin Blanc Challenge out of the 91 wines submitted.
99 Vintage : *** Wine Magazine – February 2001 edition.
2001 Vintage : **** Wine Magazine – February 2002 edition.
2002 Vintage : 88 / 100 in USA Wine Spectator – April 2003 edition.
2003 Vintage: **** in John Platter. 2004 Vintage: 87/100 in USA Wine Enthusiast – November 2005.
2004 Vintage: 87/100 in USA Wine Enthusiast – November 2005.
2005 Vintage: **** SA Wine Magazine (February 2007); in the final eight of 2007 WINE Magazine FNB’S Private Client Chenin Blanc Challenge; **** in John Platter; 90/100 in USA Wine Spectator – January 2007 edition; Rated 88/100 by Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar (USA);