Vineyard Blocks

Mostly from 9 year old vines on 4 wire vertical trellis. Clone cs 46a on 101 - 14 rootstock. Soil gravelly red hutton  type.  On low lying helderberg mountain site. No irrigation necessary in 1997. Yield 4 tons / hect. 14 % merlot incl.

 

Vintage Conditions

A very difficult vintage with a lot of rain during the initial growing period. The ripening period, however, was ideal with record low temperatures and almost no rain.

Harvest date : 1 / 4/ 97 -  4 / 4 / 97 @ 22.6 – 24.5° balling.

 

Production

100% destemming and crushing by hand directly into 2 ton open top fermentation tanks. Spotaneous natural yeast fermentation @ 30 degrees celsius with the cap of skins punched down 2 - 4 times a day for 11 days. Aim was to extract max. Colour, flavour and tannins without undue harshness. Wine drained directly to barrels together with single pressing from traditional basket press.

 

All wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in the barrel.  This helps integrate the new oak component and fix colour and flavour compounds. 35% new french oak and 5% new american oak was used from the high quality " taransaud" and "demptos" cooperages. Time in barrel

19 months, which included several rackings to gradually clarify the wine and assist maturation development.

 

This wine was lightly fined with egg whites ( 2 - 3 eggs per barrel ), before bottling unfiltered by hand on the property.

Bottling date : 4 / 12 / 98

 

Tasting Notes

Dense, deep red colour. Intense blackcurrant fruit and spicy christmas pudding aromas. Persistent, richly - textured palate with layers of berry fruit and spicy oak. Fine, firm structure and long finish. Probably best between 2000 and 2007. Enjoy with rich, but finely flavoured dishes such as roasted or pan fried red and white meats.

 

Analysis

Alc. 13.87               Sg. 1.8               TA 5.7               pH 3.69               VA 0.79               SO2 27 / 39