Pondokrug Cabernet Franc 1.5L

Enjoy with Asian-style pork belly.

2016 was a challenging one. Moderate winter temperatures and below average rainfall turned into an early spring with warm and dry conditions. We had to start irrigation earlier than usual. The weather continued to warm up towards Christmas and we experienced higher than normal average temperatures. Fortunately, we had some rain during December which pepped the vines up leading into the critical ‘veraison’ period. This is when the berries change colour and begin to ripen and go into high-water demand. The hot, dry weather meant the grapes ripened quickly and we started picking earlier than ever before on 19 January. Within a crazy month, we processed 78 tons of grapes including 11 different varieties. Harvest ended as quickly as it had begun and by 19 February all Keermont grapes were picked. Pondokrug yield 2016: 4.0 ton/Ha

This wine spent 20 months maturing in seasoned 225 litre French oak barrels before being bottled by hand without filtration.

All grapes used in producing our wines are grown on Keermont Vineyards. Small parcels of grapes are specifically selected according to ripeness, harvested by hand and vinified separately. Fermentation is carried out by yeast which occurs naturally on the grape skins and in the winery. Red wines spend three to four weeks fermenting and macerating on the skins in small open-top tanks with one or two gentle ‘punch-downs’ performed per day.

Agriculture in the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley can be traced back to 1694. In 2003 the Wraith family moved to the Western Cape from Gauteng and bought two adjacent farms. These two farms are now farmed as one Estate known as Keermont Vineyards. 2005 saw the start of a major vineyard planting programme on lands that had been fallow for a number of years. We planted 21Ha over seven years to add to an existing 8Ha of older vineyards. Our official maiden vintage was 2007 and in 2010 a spring water bottling plant on Fleurfontein was converted into a fully functional winery complete with offices tasting room processing facilities and barrel rooms.