VINEYARDS
Waterkloof Sauvignon blanc was born on the south west facing, low yielding, and windswept slopes of Schapenberg (overlooking False Bay). Here the blustery Southeaster (and sometimes the north west as well), churns up the vineyards with regularity. This not only allows for a very low crop, but the flavours intensify to a flinty minerality.
The two single vineyards are about 4 kilometres from the sea, and are planted at a height of between 270 and 300 metres above sea level. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium size stones, helping with drainage, while retaining the ability to hold moisture. The vineyards are 14 years old. Production was approximately 3 tons/ha.
THE 2008/09 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 werew 2 to 3 weeks later than normal. The long, cool growing season ensured that grapes had a high natural acidity and lots of flavour. Late ripening varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon ripened on time. The result was a short and very intense harvest which lasted for about 5 weeks.
WINEMAKING
We mainly rely on tasting the grapes to determine the optimum stage of flavour development. Grapes are picked early in the morning when they are still cool which helps to preserve the flavours. Extracting juice from the grape skins is achieved through pressing the whole bunches. This is the most delicate way to extract the juice. After a settling of 24 hours, the juice is racked to the fermentation tanks. We allow the yeast occurring naturally on the grapes to start and complete the fermentation. A portion (45%) of the grapes was fermented in old 600 litre barrels. After a very slow fermentation, the wine was left on the primary lees up to bottling in early February 2010. This helped to add more complexity and weight to the palate.
TASTING NOTES
The cool climatic conditions in 2009 produced a persistent, flinty wine with a strong mineral core.
ANALYSIS
Alc: 13.5%
RS: 3, 9g/l
TA: 9.60g/l
pH: 3.11
VA: 0.71
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