River Dragon

Poached fillet of trout with lemon sauce – Duck pancakes – Black mussel potjie.

Secondary fermentation occurred in the bottle and the wine spent 12 months on the lees after which it was manually riddled and disgorged.

River Dragon was hand harvested towards the end of February in the early hours of the morning at 19 degrees balling. The grapes from a 39 year old vineyard, were whole bunch pressed with a very low recovery rate of only 600 litres per ton – this ensures that no bitter tannins are extracted. Wild fermentation took place in old Acacia 500 litre barrels to enhance complexity.

Silverthorn Wines is among only a handful of producers who have dedicated their expertise solely to the production of this elegant style of wine. We are a proud member of the Cap Classique Association an independent organisation which collectively supports and markets Cap Classique wines and of course a member of the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild. Silverthorn’s terroir with its rocky lime-rich shale soils similar to the famous Champagne soils in France coupled with our mature Chardonnay vineyards ensure the time is ripe for Silverthorn’s grand entry into the world of sparkling wine.