Estate Reserve

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

The grapes were hand sorted and lightly crushed into stainless steel fermentation tanks. They were given a cold soak for three days before allowing the natural fermentation to start. Three pump overs a day were done on the tanks during fermentation, after which they underwent extended skin contact for 2-3 weeks. The wine was placed in French oak barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation.

Flowering and berry set was good. Vigorous growth happened due to high soil moisture content, which was a result of the wet winter, therefore more canopy management was required. Rain in November and January meant that we needed less irrigation, but disease pressure was higher and stricter controls were needed. Ideal dry and moderate conditions reigned during ripening in late January and February. Cooler March helped with hang time on the vine. Harvest was 1 week later than normal due to late cold winter. Stellenbosch had one off the wettest seasons in years, but wine quality is exceptional.

Matured for 18 months in French oak and racked on average every four months.