The Unexpected

Please note: Award stickers are applied at the producer's discretion and may not be present on all bottles.

Grapes are hand-picked early in the morning before getting too warm in order to retain freshness and prevent oxidation. The grape bunches are then kept in cold storage to further reduce the temperature to 14°Celsius. Bunches are pressed and inoculated with a commercial yeast to start the fermentation process. Daily pump overs ensure colour extraction, aeration of the wine for phenolic development, and softening of the tannins. This process continues until the wine is fermented dry to 10°Balling.

This multi-layered soil structure consists of a relatively shallow clay layer at the bottom, followed by Koffieklip in the middle, topped with a thin layer of sand. Due to the clay layer, the vineyard is relatively wet in winter, and therefore the 101-14 rootstock was used for its shallow and ramified root system. This rootstock's advantage is its resistance to most vineyard diseases, it adapts well to clay soils, and delivers a lower yield but a superbly highquality grape. The resultant grape has a lower skin-juice ratio on small and concentrated berries, ultimately leading to dark fruit flavours which are desirable in red Bordeaux varieties. The vineyard is planted in an East West direction, leading to cooler conditions as it allows less direct sunlight onto the foliage and fruit. The vineyard can withstand the South Easter wind, and benefits from the cooling effect of afternoon breezes during summer which is important for the vineyard’s microclimate.

While the wine is kept on the skins for a further 10 to 14 days, the cake is being kept wet. After fermentation, wine is racked from the gross lees and transferred to 2nd fill French Oak barrels to mature for 3 years prior to bottling on 24 July 2020. A further 12 months bottle maturation allows for settling prior to labelling.