VINTAGE: 2008

VARIETAL: 100% Chenin Blanc

GENERAL: The grapes were sourced from JP Bredell D5’s Vineyard in the Helderburg, an area renowned for producing excellent quality Chenin Blanc. The vines are twenty seven year old bush vines. The clones are SM9 and A2 on 101 and 14 rootstock.Yields were reduced by green harvesting to between nine and ten tons/ha. The Helderberg is subject to cooling South Easterly sea breezes during the warm summer growing season.

VINIFICATION: The grapes were picked fully ripe at 24.3º Balling. The grapes were destemmed into stainless steel tanks and allowed twelve hrs of skin contact at 12ºC, before being gently pressed in a pneumatic press. Only free run juice was used for this wine. At all times, where possible, the wine was kept reductive under a CO2 blanket. The juice was inoculated with Anchor Vin 2000 and Alchemy yeast in stainless steel tanks.
Once fermentation commenced, Juice was run off from one tank into two new French Vicard barriques. The temperature of the tank and the barrels was kept at 15ºC throughout fermentation. Fermentation took approximately twenty five days. When the residual sugar reached 8.4gms/l, fermentation was halted by an CO2 addition. The new wine was allowed to sit on the lees for five months, during which time, regular battonage was practiced. After blending the tank portion together with the barrel fermented portion, cold stabilization and a light bentonite fining took place before bottling into screwcap bottles.

DESCRIPTION: Pale gold in colour, the wine has concentrated yellow cling peach and fruit salad notes on the nose following through to the palate. The voluptuous mid-palate shows subtle spicy vanilla notes derived from the new French barriques. The wine is rich and full bodied, but the residual sugar is offset by perfectly balancing acidity. The wine is a perfect aperitif but also matches Thai influenced dishes, mild Malay curries as well as seafood and creamy chicken dishes.

WINE ANALYSIS:

ALCOHOL: 14.4%

RESIDUAL SUGAR: 8.1g/l

pH: 3.14

TOTAL ACID: 6.2g/l

MATURATION: This wine is drinking very well on release, but has the wherewithal to develop further complexity over the next four years from date of harvest.