Van Lill Chenin Blanc

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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. Fermentation occurred spontaneously in both stainless steel (60%) and 2nd fill French oak barrels.

Basie van Lill of Arbeidsend has owned and worked these vineyards for decades. The vineyards share space with fynbos and Rooibos tea bushes while sheep also graze the land. These treasured old bush vines, planted without irrigation in 1983 on the well-drained sandy red soils of the Skurfberg Mountain, together with the area’s height above sea level and naturally low rainfall, produce small quantities of intense and balanced wines with a high natural acidity. Higher rainfall saw the region recovering from a preceding 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 12 months on the lees before being blended and bottled.