Lady May

Grilled lamb, braised beef, venison.

Winter was late, but cold enough to allow dormancy of our vines. Low rainfall brought low soil moisture levels which led to managing stress in the vines later in the season. Luckily spring sprung with good, even bud burst. Warm weather, especially from the end of October to the end of January, resulted in restricted growth, smaller berries and lower bunch mass. The harvest happened a week earlier than anticipated. The harvest yield was smaller than in previous years.

The wine stayed on its lees for a considerable period of time before racking (on average, every 4 months) and enjoyed a maturation of 24 months in new French oak barrels.

The grapes were lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks. The fermentation started with indigenous yeast and a mixture of rack-and-returns and open pump-overs. Post-fermentation skin contact lasted 2 to 3 weeks before gentle pressing and transferring into new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place.

Winemaker Dirk and assistant Lehandri endeavour to make Glenelly wines as naturally as possible with wild yeast fermentation and little to no acidification. The team follows a minimal intervention approach to winemaking yet intensive sorting and care is taken when receiving the grapes. We use France’s most recognised coopers (mostly from Taransaud, Boutes and Sylvain) to ensure a gentle and precise elevage, preserving the identity of the terroir of Glenelly. Hygiene is of utmost importance in the cellar and a combination of both hot water and ozonated water is used for cleaning.