Rocking Horse Cape White Blend

Please note: Award stickers are applied at the producer's discretion and may not be present on all bottles.

T h e w i n e m a k i n g r e m a i n s s i mpl e. O u r p r i m a r y c h a l l e n g e d u r i n g t h e h a r ve s t i s t o e n s u r e t h a t we p i c k a l l o f o u r f a r - f l u n g bl o c k s a t t h e r i g h t t i m e a n d g e t t h e m b a c k t o t h e w i n e r y i n p e r f e c t c o n d i t i o n . O n c e t h i s i s a c h i eve d , we r eve r t t o wo r k i n g w i t h ve r y l i t t l e i n t h e way o f ‘ w i n e m a k i n g t e c h n i q u e’. We a r e n o t l o o k i n g f o r a b i g a l c o h ol ex p r e s s i o n (n o r a l ow a l c o h ol o n e f o r t h a t m a t t e r) a n d p r e f e r s ub t l e w i n e s t h a t s h ow r i p e n e s s , w h i l e b e i n g r e s t r a i n e d a n d el e g a n t . T h e g r ap e s a r e w h ol e -b u n c h p r e s s e d a n d n o t r e a t m e n t s o r a d d i t i o n s a r e u s e d o n t h e j u i c e. T h i s h a n d s - o f f r e g i m e a t t h i s e a r l y s t a g e r e a l l y h el p s t o d evel op t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e w i n e. T h e j u i c e i s t h e n r a c ke d o f f t h e h e av y s ol i d s a n d t a ke n t o ol d o a k b a r r el s o f va r i o u s vol u m e s . T h e w i n e s a r e f e r m e n t e d n a t u r a l l y, a n d t h ey a r e a l l owe d t o t h e n g o t h r o u g h t h e i r s ub s e q u e n t m a l ol a c t i c f e r m e n t a t i o n . We wa t c h t h e m c a r e f u l l y f o r t h e n ex t f ew m o n t h s u n t i l t h ey ‘ s e t t l e d ow n’, a t w h i c h p o i n t we a d d s o m e s u l p h u r d ioide. Primary fruit is not what we are looking for here, rather we’re trying to show the underlying character of the grapes and the vineyard where they came from.

This wine is crafted from a selection of carefully chosen vineyard sites across the Western Cape. The vineyards include old vines of Roussanne from Stellenbosch and Paardeberg, Chenin Blanc from Paardeberg and Malmesbury, Chardonnay from the Ceres Plateau, and Semillon Blanc from Swartland, with Clairette Blanche sourced from Worcester. The vineyards benefit from diverse soil types including decomposed granite, clay, sandstone over clay, and alluvial soils, which contribute to the wine’s complexity and character​.