Cabernet Sauvignon

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

Upon arrival at the cellar, the grapes are pre-chilled before processing. Once chilled they are gently destemmed, but not crushed, for berry sorting. Berry sorting ensures that no green matter goes into fermentation. Once sorted, the berries are cold-soaked in their juice for approximately two days before spontaneous natural fermentation begins Whole berry fermentation and cold-soaking extend the maceration period without extracting too deeply into the skin and pips. This minimizes the extraction wanted harsh and aggressive tannins, which promotes a more fruit-driven profile. Fermentation takes place in open-top fermenters and extraction is encouraged by hand plunging. Once dry, the wine is then drained to 300Lt French oak barrels and the skins are pressed in a traditional wooden basket press.

The grapes used for this special wine are grown in a Southwest-facing vineyard with an Est-West row orientation, located on one of Vondeling's highest and most temperate slopes. Planted in the late 1990s, their roots burrow deep into nutrient-poor, well-weathered granite soils. A small measure of clay helps retain moisture and offers great consistency of concentration and aroma. The grapes were hand-picked at a ripeness of 24°balling and great care is taken to ensure that only the very best fruit enters the cellar.

Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel after which the wine is racked and returned to barrel. The wine spends a total of 14 months in barrel before its bottled and allowed to rest for another year before being released