Laing Semillon

Grilled salmon or soft cheeses.

Henk Laing’s farm, Trekpoort, is situated on a stretch of land between Lamberts Bay and Clanwilliam, on the Skurfberg Mountain overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. 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 have survived around 50 years of heat, red sand and a scarcity of water and still generate grapes that produce intense, weighty wines with character in spades. The vines, planted in 1956, 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.

The wine spent 8 months on the lees before being blended and bottled in December.

The grapes were transported to the cellar in refrigerated trucks and cooled overnight to below 14°C. Bunches were hand-sorted and whole-bunch pressed the following day and the juice settled overnight. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel tanks, after which 29% of the wine was transferred to 2nd fill (300l) French oak barrels, and the balance remained unoaked.

This is a range created in recognition of the Cape of Good Hope’s vinous heritage which stretches back more than 350 years when the first Governor of the Cape planted grapes. These unique wines are the result of irreplaceable parcels of old vines and site specific terroirs. The labels reflect the grape variety as well as the origin and singular characters behind them.