Vin De Hel Late Harvest

The grapes, which at this stage have a combination of Botrytis, raisin like and juicy berries are gently destemmed and crushed to optimise juice extraction. Additional raisins which are not removed by the de-stemmer are removed by hand and added back to the tank. Fermentation is allowed to start on the skins for at least 24 – 48 hours. After which the skins are pressed during a slow 3 hour press cycle, the remaining juice is then floated to aid clarification for a beautiful clean ferment. The clarified must is then moved to its final fermentation tank to complete the ferment at a nice cool temperature. Once the wine has fermented to the point where we want it to be we crash cool and rack the ferment to retain the wines natural sweetness i.e residual sugar. The process of stabilising and clarifying the wine now begins and finishes with a cross flow filtration ensuring the removal of all yeast and bacteria maintaining the integrity of the final bottled product.

The season began with mild and dry conditions which had a crucial impact on grape quantity and quality. Drier conditions limited berry mass and subsequently yields, but also ensured outstanding quality. The cool ripening period aided early cultivars, and high-quality wines were prepared during this time. Late cultivars, which had to wait until after the rains to go to the cellar, presented producers with various challenges. Despite these challenges, vineyards that were well-managed handled.