Vin De Hel Late Harvest

Enjoy with dessert or some hand crafted cheeses.

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.

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.

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.