One of three label painting set by Rita Trafford titled: Pond Studies

 

Vineyard Blocks

All grapes sourced from the same blocks of old low yielding vines – between 25 and 40 years old – in the Stellenbosch / Helderberg area. Keerweder, Post House and Bredell. Decomposed granite soils with good moisture retention, unirrigated or lightly irrigated at varaison.

Yield particularly low in 2010 - between 3 & 5 tons /hectare.

 

Vintage Conditions

A cool, overcast, rainy spring led to poor fruit set and smaller looser bunches. Very strong winds caused some physical damage and also contributed to reducing the size of the crop. The small crop contributed to faster ripening and the first grapes being picked very ripe. A hot, dry harvest, but most of our Chenin was picked before the mid March heat wave, preserving complexity.

 

Production

100% barrel fermented in 225ℓ and 700ℓ casks for 10 months. 20% new French oak. No malolactic fermentation. Bottled unfiltered.

Bottling date: 29 / 12 / 10. (520 x 12 x 750ml)

 

Tasting Notes

Rich yellow colour.

A little richer, thicker than usual, with great concentration and length. Ideal with mildly spicy Asian seafood or chicken dishes.

Drink 2011 to 2015

 

Analysis

ALC. 14.9%      SUGAR: 4.1g/l      TA: 5.2g       pH: 3.62       VA: 0.76g/l      SO2: 12free & 83total