VINEYARDS
The vineyards producing the Peacock Ridge range of wines are cultivated on the lower slopes of our Waterkloof estate. The estate vineyards are planted at a height of between 200 and 290 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Schapenberg in Somerset West. To the south they overlook the broad sweep of False Bay and the southern Atlantic shoreline about 5 kilometres away. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium sized stones, which aid drainage and moisture retention. All the vineyards on Waterkloof are cultivated under dry land conditions, with supplementary irrigation available in very dry years. The average ages of vines are between 10 and 12 years. Strong south easterly winds during the growing season help to control growth and naturally limit yields.
THE 2008/9 GROWING SEASON
The Winelands stayed in the grip of winter well into September of 2008. Very good rains during the winter ensured that soil retained enough moisture to sustain the vines through the long growing season. Together with cool weather during spring, it caused vineyards to ripen the grapes later than normal. Cultivars that ripen early to mid season were 2 to 3 weeks later than normal. The long, cool growing season ensured that grapes had a high natural acidity and lots of flavour. The result was a short and very intense harvest which lasted for about 5 weeks.
WINEMAKING
The winemaking philosophy for all our premium white wines from Waterkloof is the same: we follow a traditional, minimalist approach. This means that we interfere as little as possible with the winemaking process. It allows the flavours prevalent in that specific vineyard 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. Yeast occurring on the grapes is allowed to ferment the juice; no yeasts are added. Fermentation takes place at temperatures of 18-20ºC.
The Peacock Ridge Sauvignon blanc behaved a bit better than the Circumstance this year, and completed its fermentation towards the end of November. We allowed all our white wines to develop further complexity by maturing them on the primary lees until January 2010. It was bottled in February 2010.
TASTING NOTES
Blackcurrant and passion fruit notes complement the rich, complex palate. True to the cool 2009 vintage, the wine has a tight mineral finish.
ANALYSIS
Alc: 14,0%
TA: 8.8g/l
pH: 3.08
RS: 3.5g/l
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