Blanc de Blancs

Seared Tuna with Wasabi Sauce.

The fruit for this wine was hand selected and hand harvested from our very specific Chardonnay clonal block on our Robertson Estate. The soils in which these vineyards grow have a rich natural limestone content. These clones have different flavour profiles contributing to the unique complexity and minerality in the base wines. Yield was between 8-10 ton/ha. The Chardonnay was hand-picked at 19.0 to 20.0 Brix during the third week of January. Grapes were picked into lug boxes and then transferred to fruit bins for transport to the cellar, where the whole bunches were tipped into the presses and underwent a gentle and slow pressing cycle to extract the juice as softly as possible.

Only 7% new barrels are added each year to the balance of older barrels to ensure harmony of the wood integration during fermentation. After fermentation, the wine was aged in barrels for 5 months and then selectively blended with other parcels of the best Chardonnay that were fermented in stainless steel. The final blended base wine was then bottled for the second fermentation with yeast contact of at least 48 months before degorgement.

Whole bunch pressing ensures fractional recovery. Only the cuvée juice (premium quality juice) was selected for fermentation. Of the cuvée, 50% was fermented in specific Piece Champenoise 205L barrels to ensure richness and extra dimension of flavour and a creamy texture.

Graham Beck is a Robertson producer dedicated to Méthode Cap Classique, with a reputation built on bottle-fermented South African sparkling wine. Since its first MCC release in 1991, the range has become a benchmark for consistency, freshness and celebration-ready Cape sparkling wine.