THE STORY
A wine available exclusively in hospitality (hotels / restaurants / catering). Beeskamp’s story is depicted on its label:
Waterkloof’s “Beeskamp” (cattle camp in English) – animal husbandry is an important component of any regenerative farm. Fertility should ideally be born from within a closed system, as opposed to bringing in compost from elsewhere, or relying on synthetic fertilisers. At Waterkloof we opt for the hardy, native and hence well-adapted Nguni breed of cattle, which are ably assisted by a herd of Angora goats (the fluffy ones of wool fame) and a team of Duroc pigs. Delve deeper here – Dryland Composting (youtube.com)
Flower Power – In 2008 Waterkloof became one of The Western Cape Wineland’s first WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Conservation Champions. Half of the property is now dedicated to preserving the diverse, indigenous, yet threatened plant-life that make up one of Earth’s five major Floristic Regions. Since receiving WWF Conservation Champion status, five of our neighbours have followed suit, benefitting our winegrowing hillside still further. The honey made at Waterkloof also reaps the benefits of this biodiversity! Delve deeper here – Biodiversity Tour & Wine Tasting – YouTube
Waterkloof’s Ocean Facing Vineyard – A poorly sited vineyard will never produce excellent grapes, no matter how carefully it is farmed. On The Schapenberg -the hillside upon which Waterkloof sits- wind-buffeted, ocean-facing vines yield tiny grapes with huge flavour and impeccable balance. These rare gems, combined to an exacting, natural approach in the cellar have gifted us with a wine of great complexity, depth and individuality.
A GENTLE HAND
We follow a ‘less is more’, minimal intervention winemaking philosophy for all our wines: Grapes are tasted at regular intervals to determine the optimal ripeness level. Harvesting takes place by hand after which, the grapes are whole-bunch pressed in our horizontal basket press. Only the finest, free run juice is selected from the press, from which it runs down via gravity into tank. Clarification happens naturally over a 24-hour period without the addition of any enzymes or settling agents. The juice is then fermented with “wild yeasts”, which allow for the flavours in the vineyard to be expressed in the wine. No additions of tartaric acid were necessary, due to the natural balance found in the grapes. Fermentation took roughly two to three months to complete and the wine was left on the secondary lees for another two months before bottling.
AND A FEW PRAYERS TO MOTHER NATURE: THE 2023/2024 GROWING SEASON
We were happy with excellent Winter conditions during 2023 season -receiving over 1000 mm of rain in 2023 but also saw extreme flooding during this period. The Winter days and nights were nice and cool to ensure that the vines were able to go into a proper dormancy. The dams were replenished and the groundwater reserves looked good.
Once Spring came a long it was accompanied by strong winds and consistently warmer days. Véraison was also about 10 days earlier than in 2022. The strong winds affected fruit set as well as the vineyard canopies and we could see that the vines were stressed.
We started picking our earlier blocks at around the 3rd week of January from the beginning of February the temperatures normalised and we only finished picking during the first week of March.
We saw a lot of bunches on the vines but the berries were tiny. With these tiny berries comes lovely concentration and bright acids. This vintage is definitely smaller but it is packed full of flavour.
TASTING NOTES FROM THE GLASS OF NADIA LANGENEGGER
This Sauvignon Blanc has great complexity and expressed the varietal as well as the cool site with flavours such as gooseberries, lime and mineral aromas. I enjoy the expression of the same flavours on the palate which carries through very nicely with the lifted acidity. Enjoy it on its own or with grilled prawns in a lemon and butter dressing!
The Numbers
Alc: 13,5 %
TA: 6 g/l
pH: 3.5
RS: 1.9 g/l