Riesling

An excellent aperitif. Also with salads, chicken and mildly spicy dishes.

Faced with severe drought, the challenging conditions of the 2018 harvest resulted in one of the smallest yields in years. Yet despite the significant difficulties, the cooler ripening period and smaller crops produced berries with concentrated flavour and intense colour providing wines of notable quality.

The resultant wine is left on its gross lees for 6 months after which we rack it and add a light fining to clean them up a bit for evaluation after which it is bottled.

The grapes were gently de-stemmed, pumped through our mash cooler, (Glycol set at 5°C) to cool the fruit down, receives a dose of pectolytic enzymes as well as a small amount of SO2 to aid in the juice clarification process, prevent oxidation and spontaneous fermentations. Overnight skin contact to aid in the de-juicing process, the grapes are then pressed first thing in the morning. Juice clarification takes place via cold settling, the juice is allowed to settle overnight, then racked to its fermentation tank early the following morning. We inoculate with a commercial yeast strain, the ferment runs at 14°C, to maintain a progressive yet stable fermentation curve.

In 1983 Gyles Webb and his wife's family purchased a run-down fruit farm at the top of the Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch where they established Thelema Mountain Vineyards. At a time when the South African wine scene was focused on quantity rather than quality Webb was a trailblazing pioneer on a mission to craft world-class wines. Construction began on the winery in 1987 and Thelema produced its first vintage in 1988. Situated on the slopes of the Simonsberg Thelema occupies mainly south-facing aspects that afford spectacular views of the Simonsberg Drankenstein and Jonkershoek mountains. Elevations ranging from 370 to 640 meters above sea-level make the 157-hectare estate one of the coolest and highest wine farms in Stellenbosch.