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De Trafford Plan B 2012

“Plan B” is a true “second” wine – a collection of barrels we feel are not quite up to the high quality we expect for our wines, but too good to sell off in bulk.

 

 Vineyard Blocks

Merlot 65%

A combination of our own Merlot and a few barrels from Kleinood, a few kilometers down the road, to improve the balance of our Plan B blend. This was from a young vineyard on decomposed loamy granite soil typical of the area and ideal for Merlot.

Syrah 26%

Mostly from neighboring Keermont vineyard, from which we make our Blueprint Syrah.

2012 was a fabulous vintage from this vineyard, which enabled us to make a really strict selection and sacrifice a few barrels for Plan B.

Cabernet Sauvignon 9%

We had a single excellent barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon from neighboring Keermont vineyard that struggled to finish fermenting and became a little oxidative in the process.

 

Vintage Conditions

Winter 2011 was colder than usual, but with average rainfall resulting in excellent, even bud-break. We had good growth in spring, but poor weather (cold and rain) over the flowering period resulting in uneven flowering and berry set. We paid extra attention to green harvesting to help make up for this. Disease pressure was managed with well-timed sprays and open, small canopies. January was exceptionally hot, which really jolted the vines into ripeness. The ripening period of February and March was much cooler and close to perfect with not much rain.

 

Production

Plan B is produced in much the same way as the top De Trafford wines, just a barrel selection of those we don’t feel meet our high standards. This includes hand picking, destemming and crushing directly into 2 ton open top fermentation tanks. Spontaneous natural yeast fermentation with the cap of skins punched down 2 – 4 times a day for 10 to 14 days. Wine drained directly to small barrels for malolactic fermentation. Time in barrels 19 months with several rackings to gradually clarify the wine and assist maturation.

No fining and bottled unfiltered.

Bottling date: 25 / 11 / 13  Production: 272 x 12 x 750mℓ (Only sold by case of 12)

 

Tasting Notes

Medium deep youthful red colour. Attractive cherry, dark berries and fynbos nose showing ripe fruit and a little spicy oak. Juicy fruit on palate with some time needed for tannins to soften and components to come together. Best between 2014 & 2020.

 

Analysis

Alc. 14.95%         SG. 1.1g/ℓ         TA  5.7g/ℓ         pH  3.47        VA  0.67         SO2  24free 81total

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