Stadsaal Cinsault

Ideal with white meat, charcuterie and lighter food.

A dry winter season with well below average rainfall. Cold units were made up for in later winter and early spring. Slightly earlier budding, but good, even budding and flowering with an average yield. December brought a lot of rain, lowering temperatures and replenishing water reserves. Hot weather in early January encouraged ripening, becoming more moderate with cool nights to retain acidity. A good vintage for white varieties, with a lot of rain during the month of March making it a challenging vintage for reds.

Maturation took place in seasoned 500L French oak barrels for 12 months.

Cinsault grapes were fermented in open top fermenters with 25% of the grapes left as whole bunches, and 75% destemmed and left as whole berry. The grapes were not crushed in order to capture fruit purity and varietal definition. Fermentation and maceration took place over a period of 7 days before pressing.

Jean Engelbrecht along with his friends Dillie Malherbe and Jannie Durand set out to create a wine that would not only embody all that is Stellenbosch but that would also pay homage to this great town at the heart of the Cape winelands. Each wine in this range pays tribute to an historical landmark in Stellenbosch.