Resonance

Perfect with seafood & shellfish, pasta and salads.

the Sauvignon blanc vineyard lies on the uppermost slopes at an altitude of 282m, in the porphyritic Granite soils of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. This appellation ranges from 4 to 8 km in proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is cool and temperate, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly ocean going 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. They annual rainfall is 850mm, with 50% falling in the winter months (May-August). The Semillon was sourced from a neighbour grower in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Appellation. This vineyard lies at 285mm altitude on a southern slope of 11%. A more moderate season compared to the previous 3 years, with fewer extremes of temperature spikes and water stress, allowing more consistency for the vines. The preceding winter produced adequate rain and cold temperatures that held out through August to allow for later budding in early September, not seen since 2014. The rise in temperature was gradual and though the rainfall was not abundant, we were rewarded with timely rain events towards the end of vegetative growth and again before harvest. Colour development in the early red varieties were problematic, requiring a few rounds of green harvesting to secure concentration and tannin development in what would become superbly supple and seamless wines.

The grapes are picked in to large-surface area crates to limit crushing of the bunches. The day's harvest is cooled down overnight to 8°C in the winery's refrigerated cold room. The bunches are hand-sorted on a conveyor, destemmed and crushed into stainless steel tanks where, after a few hours, the juice is allowed to drain into lower tanks for settling. the juice is settled clear over a couple of days by cooling only (no enzyme) and racked for indigenous fermentation which is maintained at 16°C until the wine is dry (16-20 days). No sulphur was added before fermentation. 40% of the blend includes Semillon that has been fermented by indigenous yeasts and matured for 3 months in new oak puncheons (500L barrels) and older barriques.

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.