IT’S REALLY ALL ABOUT THE VINEYARDS
Circle of Life celebrates farming in harmony with nature, telling a
story of preserving and regenerating biodiversity, which we feel helps grow healthier and more characterful grapes.
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 but threatened plant-life that make up one of Earth’s five major Floristic Regions. Of course, it is not only the flora that we help preserve and regenerate on Waterkloof, but also the inextricably connected fauna that play their part in any thriving eco-system, alongside our vines, the soil in which they stand and let’s not forget ourselves, the custodians who farm this land.
Since receiving WWF Conservation Champion status, five of our neighbours have followed suit, benefitting this winegrowing hillside still further. The Schapenberg is now the ideal canvas of vineyards upon which to craft this intricately woven tapestry of a blend we call Circle of Life.
A film to find out more about Biodiversity on Waterkloof –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJKGHOa15Yk
A GENTLE HAND
We mainly rely on tasting to determine the optimum flavour development of the grapes. Bunches are hand-picked early in the mornings, when they are still cool, which helps to preserve the flavours. Extracting juice from the grapes is achieved through whole-bunch pressing in our modern basket press. This is the most delicate way to extract the juice. No additions of enzymes or settling agents were made to the juice.
After a settling period of 24 hours, a large proportion of the juice was destined for co-fermentation. We determined two blends prior to fermentation one of Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc as well as a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon which all went into old 600-liter barrels- from where it was spontaneously fermented for six months. After the fermentation was completed, the blend was racked to a stainless-steel tank to which we added the rest of the Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Semillon. To have the varietals integrate we decided to leave the blend in barrel on the fine lees until its bottling date six months later. This helped to add more complexity and weight to the palate. We produce the wine as naturally as possible, with no additions of acids or enzymes. The final blend is 72% Sauvignon Blanc, 24% Chenin Blanc and 4% Semillon
AND A FEW PRAYERS TO MOTHER NATURE: THE 2023/24 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 along it was accompanied by strong winds and consistently warmer days. Veraison was 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 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 small, but is packed full of flavour.
A TASTING NOTE FROM THE GLASS OF NADIA LANGENEGGER
On the nose I enjoy the expression of ripe pear, melon as well as hints of lime. Our wind-swept vineyards are well known to produce exceptionally low yields which can be appreciated in the concentration of the flavors on the palate. Our cooler climate site also contributes to giving this wine a lovely fresh acidity and a distinctive minerality on the finish. A seafood platter works very well with our blend.
THE NUMBERS (20 000 BOTTLES PRODUCED)
Alc: 13,5 %
RS: 4 g/l
TA: 5.6 g/l
pH: 3.25