Albariño

Perfect with seafood & shellfish, pasta and salads.

These three vineyards lie on north and south facing slopes at altitudes of 250-300m, in the porphyritic Granite soils of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. This appellation rang es from 4 to 8km in proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is cool and temperate, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly oceangoing winds through the appellation during the summer. These southerly winds in turn create regular sea mists and overcast conditions, moderating the temperatures in the valley. The annual rainfall is 850mm, with 50% falling in the winter months (May – August). A cool, long ripening and healthy vintage. The preceding winter was late to start and crept into September, delivering good rains and the best cold units for the last 5 years. The budburst throughout the cold conditions of September was gradual, delaying the growth to late in the season. Some late, cold front systems lashing the coast caused some wind damage and crop loss during flowering in early November, setting the tone for one of the coldest spring seasons in 10 years. The generous Spring rains contrasted with one of the driest, though coolest, summers on record. Only 12 hours of temperature over 30°C was recorded for the whole summer, indicating a distinctly late -ripening season

Matured for 8 months in concrete eggs (33%), stainless steel (57%) and old wooden foudre (10%). No fining, coarse filtration and sulphur adjustment before bottling.

The grapes are handpicked and packed in to small, shallow crates to limit crushing of the bunches. The day’s harvest is cooled down overnight to 8ºC in the winery’s refrigerated cold room. The bunches are hand-sorted on a conveyor table, destemmed and crushed, falling directly into stainless steel tanks where, after a few hours of skin contact, the juice is allowed to drain into lower tanks for settling. The juice is settled overnight (no enzymes used) and racked to large concrete eggs, stainless steel, with a smaller component in old foudre, for spontaneous fermentation. No sulphur was added before fermentation.

Newton Johnson Vineyards is owned and managed by the Newton Johnson family. The farm is based in the upper Hemel en Aarde Valley near the seaside town of Hermanus an hour and a half’s drive out of Cape Town. This is a popular tourist destination famous for some of the most spectacular land-based whale watching in the world lush indigenous fynbos a floral kingdom home to 1500 species and exclusive to the Cape mountain walks and bike trails. Led by Dave a Cape Wine Master with a thesis on Pinot Noir and his wife Felicity (nee Newton) the Newton Johnson family moved to the Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley in 1995 built a cellar and started planting vines shortly thereafter. This enthusiasm for wine and Pinot noir in particular was passed on to and eagerly adopted by his sons Bevan and Gordon. They in turn have taken this family cellar and vineyards to new heights in exploring the nuances of this grape and their vineyards.