Cabernet Sauvignon

The grapes were hand-picked and cooled down to 1°C before entering the cellar where it was destemmed and not crushed. Ten to fifteen days of cold soaking followed before spontaneous fermentation with one or two punch downs per day. A long, slow fermentation at ± 34°C followed with soft pressing. The wine settled for one to two weeks before going to barrel.

The Stellenbosch vineyards were planted in 2003 in “Koffieklip” (“Coffee Stone”) soil with a clay layer 1m deep on the lower, western slopes of the Helderberg. With a maritime microclimate, the winters are wet and cold, and in summer the heat is tempered by a cool and fresh breeze from the Atlantic Ocean in False Bay. The vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon Clones 163 and 46) were planted in an east-west row direction. The planting is 1.2m x 2.4m in vertical shoot positioning with spur pruning. The canopy height is approximately 1.4m with vines approximately 40cm off the ground. Irrigation is done via leaf water potential, determined by a pressure chamber. Sugar loading and berry aromatic sequence are used to determine picking dates.

The wine was then aged for 12 months in 300ℓ 30% new Burgundian Pierre du Bourgogne oak barrels. The wine was oaked six months less than usual but spent six months more in bottle.