Laing Groendruif

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The grapes were transported to the cellar in refrigerated trucks and cooled overnight. Bunches were hand-sorted and whole-bunch pressed the following day and the juice settled overnight. 50% of the juice was then racked into a stainless steel tank, and the other 50% into 2nd and 3rd fill French oak barrels where fermentation occurred spontaneously.

Henk Laing’s farm, Trekpoort, is situated on the Skurfberg Mountains near Clanwilliam. Laing has a deep understanding of this land, the vines, the weather, the animals and fynbos, having walked these soils during harvest with his father, decades ago. The metre-tall bush vines planted in 1956 have survived 65 years of heat, and despite the scarcity of water, still generate grapes that produce intense, weighty wines with character in spades. The vines are planted in red sand on clay between wheat fields, apricot trees, rooibos tea bushes and fynbos. Its proximity to the ocean, the hot days with cool nights and the age of the bush vines all contribute to ripeness and naturally high acidity. Higher rainfall saw the region recovering from the challenging drought period. Favourable climatic conditions during the growing season, with early flowering and fruit set resulted in an early harvest. The low yields, moderate ripening conditions and healthy canopies delivered concentrated fruit with excellent structure and beautiful flavours.

The wine spent 8 months on the lees without MLF (malolactic fermentation) before being blended and bottled.