Douwe Steyn Cabernet Sauvignon

Grapes are picked between 25 and 26 Balling. It is destemmed, crushed and allowed skin contact through cold maceration for 2 days. Thereafter wild yeast fermentation takes place in open concrete tanks. The cap is manually punched down every 2-6 hours over a period of slow fermentation. After fermentation has finished an additional 2 days post-fermentation skin maceration is allowed. Normal skin contact time is just over two weeks.

Grapes for this wine are harvested from bush vine which was planted in 1942. The soil type is a combination of red clay and decomposed granite and the vineyards follow an east to west planting pattern. Bush vine is a very traditional way of growing grapes in South Africa where the grapes mature and ripen in the shade of the bush. Very few Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards are still grown as bush vine as it reduces yield but also slows the ripening of the grapes.

The wine is then preserved and matured for 24-36 months in small new French oak barrels.