Light lime green in color with hints of yellow, the nose shows multi-layered greener tropical fruit such as green melon, kiwi fruit and fig. This character is true to the Banghoek terroir - lots of gooseberry zip, linear, crisp and racy. This is a mouth filling wine with moderate acidity leading to a multi-layered complex palate showing distinct mineral and fig flavours on the finish. A small addition of Semillon adds to the overall roundness on the palate.
WINE OF ORIGIN - STELLENBOSCH
ANALYSIS
alc: 13.3% / ph: 3.4/ TA: 6.4g/L / RS: 1.5g/L / VA: 0.35g/L
HARVEST NOTES
Dry and cool Winter up until budding. Warmish Spring with earlier budding of about a week. Earlier flowering by approximately 7 days. We expected an earlier harvest. Some rain in early December that improved veraison. The rest of December was humid and pleasant. Heat waves end of December and early February, but then the temperature dropped and rain spells continued with cold weather until the end of
March. Early ripening cultivars (Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc) ripened very evenly under ideal conditions and the wines are excellent.
VITICULTURE
The vineyards are in the Banghoek Valley, Stellenbosch. Elevation is 300-350m above sea level and is mostly southerly facing. This provides for moderate temperatures resulting in the late but slow ripening of the fruit. The soils are made up of leached, decomposed granite and sandstone. Gravel in the upper layers provides for good drainage in wet seasons and clay in the subsoil provides for moisture retention in dry ones. Vineyards are trained on a 7-wire hedge and cane pruned by hand. Average yield is 10tons/ha.
WINEMAKING NOTES
The grapes were crushed and destemmed. Some kin contact was given to
premium lots. The juice was then pressed and cold settled for 2 days at 8 C. It was inoculated with a terroir selected yeast strain and fermented at 16 deg C. After fermentation the wine was left on the fine leese upon which it was clarified for bottling.
AGING POTENTIAL
This wine is ideally drunk young but should develop well with aging over a period of 2-3 years, if it is stored under optimum conditions.
PRODUCTION: 56 000 x 750ml
FOOD PAIRING
Salads dressed with vinaigrette, seafood and tomato-based pasta dishes.
