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VINEYARD BLOCKS
1st block 11 year old vines on 7 wire vertical trellis. Mix
of clones on 101-14 rootstock. Mont Fleur vineyard. –
high altitude mountain slope. Soil deep red Hutton decomposed
granite.
Yield 4 tons / hect. (24hl/ha)
2nd block 8 year old vines on 5 wire vertical trellis. Clone
20C on 101.14 rootstock. Neighboring east facing Keermont
vineyard. Soil deep red Hutton decomposed granite.
Yield 3 tons / hect. (18hl/ha)
3rd block 17 year old vines on 4 wire vertical trellis. Clone
CS 46A on 101-14 rootstock. Soil shallow gravelly red Hutton
decomposed granite. On low lying Helderberg mountain site.
Yield 3 tons / hect. (18hl/ha)
14% Merlot incl.
These yields equate to less than 1kg of fruit per vine, arguably
the threshold for the production of GREAT wine!
VINTAGE CONDITIONS
Slightly below average winter rain was followed by above
average spring rain. This allowed for good growth up to flowering
and was followed by hot and dry conditions during berry enlargement,
ensuring smaller berries. Substantial rain (75mm) in January
was beneficial for the late ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, ensuring
it ripened evenly through the hot and dry weeks leading up
to the harvest, producing big, rich, concentrated wine.
Harvest date: 3 / 3 / 05 - 10 / 3 / 05 @ 24.5 – 25.8°
B.
PRODUCTION
100% destemming and crushing by hand directly into 2 ton
open top fermentation tanks. Spontaneous natural yeast fermentation
@ 30ºC with the cap of skins punched down 2 – 4
times a day for 12 to 14 days. Wine drained directly to barrels
together with single pressing from traditional basket press.
All our wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in the barrel.
35% new French oak and 5% new American oak was used from high
quality coopers. Time in barrels 23 months with several rackings
to gradually clarify the wine and assist maturation. This
wine was bottled unfiltered by hand on the property.
Bottling date: 27 / 2 / 07
Production: 835 cases.
TASTING NOTES
Impressive, deep red colour.
Big, intense palate with thick, broad tannins, though still
quite fine. Long finish and loads of potential.
Rich intense nutty fruitcake nose with a mix of black and
red wild berries. Some tobacco, smoke, toast and cedar mostly
from the oak.
Delicious now with a thick chunk of free-range beef, but better
between 2010 and 2020.
ANALYSIS
Alc. 15.28% SG.3.1 TA 5.9 pH
3.85 VA 0.79 SO2 32free 79total |
