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VINEYARDS
Circumstance Chenin blanc is produced from vineyards in the Helderberg area. We select only old bushvine vineyards which have reached balance in growth and production through time. The vineyards are close to the ocean, which ensures a long growing season that allows for ripe fruit with good concentration. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium-sized stones, helping with drainage, but retaining the ability to hold moisture. Production was approximately 5 t/ha.
THE 2007/08 GROWING SEASON
The winter provided much needed rain and cold weather, and was followed by a cool, wet spring. The regular rains during spring and the early parts of the summer led to higher than normal disease pressure. We had to increase our spraying intervals in order to ensure that our vineyards stayed free from disease. Cloudy periods during flowering resulted in irregular set. Bunches were loose and the berries were small, which allowed for even veraison. The cool weather during spring followed through into the early parts of summer, and allowed us to pick the whites during cool conditions.
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 that specific vineyard to express itself. 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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