Breedekloof Chenin Blanc Member Collection

Chenin Blanc grapes were handpicked at 23° Balling. Whole clusters in 500-litre amphoras filled with clean Chenin Blanc free-run juice. Natural fermentation. Component was whole-bunch pressed and the free-run juice was fermented in 300-litre Hungarian oak barrels (new- and third-fill barrels). Minimal cellar interference. No batonage and no malolactic fermentation.

Eight months in amphoras and barrels. Build to age.

Grapes were crushed, destalked and pressed after 8 hours of skin contact. Spontaneous fermentation – 35% in Barrels and large French oak vessels called Foudre, and 65% in concrete and stainless steel.

6 Months maturation on the fermentation lees with the oak component finishing malolactic fermentation.

Destemmed and Crushed, Clarification via flotation. 25-28days barrel fermented. 42% Natural fermentation, 58% Inoculated yeast QA23, CY3079. 20% Malolactic fermentation. 35% new wood (500lt FO barrel).

Fermentation in barrels and maturation on lees in barrels for 10 months.

Early morning handpicked from a single vineyard. Left on the lees for 60 days for added complexity. A careful approach to wood maturation was followed, and meticulously tried and tested to ensure optimum elegance and mouthfeel.

Mediterranean climate with annual rainfall of approximately 1000mm. The Estate is located on the upper slopes of the Breede River Valley at 240 – 350m above sea level. Cold winters with snow until late Spring, resulting in slow ripening. Harvest usually starts 2 – 3 weeks later than the rest of the country. Significant variation in diurnal temperature occurs in our region, with good sugar development during the warmer days while the drop in temperature at night preserves the balance of natural acids in the grapes. The soil is defined by a major geological fault, the Worcester Fault, which runs through the valley. Hills are composed of weathered sandstone and the valley floor is sedimented by a diversity of soil parent materials

The wine was fermented and matured for 9 months in 300 litre French oak barrels.

The grapes selected for this style of Chenin Blanc are handpicked in the early morning hours from a single vineyard in the heart of the Breedekloof valley. After crushing and de-stemming, the juice is left on the skins for 8 hours. It is then settled followed by the clear juice being racked into new oak barrels and amphora vessels for fermentation.

Grapes are from alluvial soil with high loam content and moderate Mediterranean climate. The 35 year-old vineyard is 4ha in area and yields 12 ton grapes per hectare. Based on soil moisture levels, as measured by neutron hydrometers in the vineyards, controlled irrigation is applied. Careful canopy management ensures that grapes and leaves are exposed to direct sunlight. This leads to quality grapes filled with intense fruit flavours.

The juice is left on the thick lees for 6 months with further maturation on the fine lees for 2 months. Batonage plays a crucial role in the complexity of this wine

Grapes were harvested at 23.8°B. Fermented and aged in 100% new French Oak Barrels. Batonage was done twice a month for the first three months, thereafter once monthly. Total time in barrel, 16 months.

Well drained Clovelly coils. Yields at 16 yon a hectare. These vineyards are trellised and 28 years old.

The different vineyard batches of each variety are all vinified separately and then carefully blended together to showcase the full varietal character and nuances of the grape.

The grapes come from a trellised single vineyard, planted in 2006, on the lower part of the Olifantsberg Mountain, situated at 300 m above sea level. The soil consists of a sandstone topsoil layered with a clay-shale subsoil. A good amount of quartz rocks is also found throughout the soil profile. Our diverse soil types elevate the complexity of this wine.

Fermented in oak barrels and matured on the lees for 8 months.

Early morning hand harvested at 23 degrees Balling. The grapes undergo 12 hours skin contact with natural settling. Fermented in stainless steel tanks until 18 degrees Balling and then transferred into 1st and older fill 500L French Oak barrels and aged for 9 months on lees.

Matured in French oak for a period of 9 months has resulted in an exquisitely balanced wine with a glorious lengthy finish.

The grapes were cooled before lightly crushed and pressed. The free-run juice was allowed to settle overnight at 8°Celsius using pectolytic enzymes. The juice is covered with carbon dioxide blankets to prevent oxidation. The wine is then inoculated, and fermentation took place in 225 litre Burgundy barrels at a constant temperature of 18 - 20°C for approximately 15 days.

Sandstone soils with a lot of stone fragments. Moderate Mediterranean climate. 1.6 Ha block with yields at 14 ton per hectare. Age of vines are 35 years in 2020. From our first vintage in 2015 this was made from the same vineyard and only this vineyard but only from 2020 it’s registered as a single vineyard and will be on the label.

Sorting of grapes, de-stemmed and crushed, cold soaking and slow fermentation at 13-15°C to enhance flavours and colour. Fermented in 3rd and 4th fill barrels for about three weeks with commercial as well as wild yeast.

The wine was left on the thick lees for 6 months & matured in barrel for 8 months.

It’s a natural wine made through spontaneous fermentation and remains unfined.