VINEYARDS
Circumstance Chenin blanc is grown in the Firgrove area close to the ocean. The vines are cultivated as bushvines. It allows for small bunches and berries with lots of concentration. The vineyards are between 20 and 25 years old. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium-sized stones, helping with drainage but also with a very good ability to retain moisture. Production was approximately 3 - 4 tons/ha. No irrigation was necessary.
THE 2006/07 GROWING SEASON
After several dry winters we had very good rains and cold weather throughout the winter period. Spring and early summer were the coolest in years, which is very positive for flavour development on the white wines, and colour and structure on the reds. Despite a heat wave in late January, vineyards looked good and ripened properly and slowly.
WINEMAKING
The winemaking philosophy for all our premium white wines from Waterkloof is the same. We follow a traditional, minimalist approach which means that we interfere as little as possible with the winemaking process. It allows the flavours prevalent in specific vineyards to express themselves. To achieve this goal, all grapes are whole-bunch pressed to ensure that we extract the juice in the gentlest way. The juice is then allowed to settle for 24 hours, after which it is racked from the settling tank into 600 litre barrels. The naturally occurring yeast is allowed to start the fermentation and takes nine months to complete. It was matured for a further two months in the barrel, after which it was racked. Only a light filtration is used prior to bottling.
TASTING NOTES
Circumstance Chenin blanc shows a combination of citrus, apple and honey flavours. A full and complex wine with some minerality at the core, further complexity is expected to develop with time.
ANALYSIS
Alc: 14.0%
RS: 4.9
TA: 4.2g/l
pH: 3.56
VA: 0.50
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