Technical Specifications
Alcohol 12.38%
Residual Sugar 1.4 g/L
pH 3.42
Total Acidity 5.4 g/L
Calories (estimated) 105 kcal / glass
150ml glass105 kcal
750ml bottle525 kcal
Grape Varieties Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Blanc Fumé
Chenin Blanc71%
Viognier15%
Blanc Fumé14%
Region Bot River
Harvest Dates February 15-23, 2018 (Bot River, Barton Chenin Blanc), February 27, 2018 (Overberg, Klipkraal Chenin Blanc), March 6, 2018 (Elgin, Elgin Ridge Sauvignon Blanc), March 13, 2018 (Elgin, Elgin Orchards Viognier)
Brix at Harvest 20.6°
Sites Bot River, Barton; Overberg, Klipkraal; Elgin, Elgin Ridge; Elgin, Elgin Orchards
Fermentation Vessels Oak Barrel
Maceration 4 days
Lees Aging 9 months
Oak Details 11% First Fill New Oak
First Fill New Oak11%
Oak Types French
Closure Crown Cap
Production Volume 21,200 bottles
Bottles21,200
Production Details This is the fourth addition of the very successful Saboteur White Blend. We were very lucky to source a small block of older vine Chenin Blanc further down the valley. This block added another dimension to the final blend. The drought conditions still persisted so, as in 2017, a smaller berry size and greater concentration of flavour. The Chenin Blanc was naturally fermented in 3 batches. The first portion was on skins for 8 days before pressing and finishing the fermentation in barrel. The second batch was crushed and pressed and the juice taken directly to barrel to complete fermentation. The third batch was left on skins for only 4 days then pressed and allowed to finish fermentation in barrel. This resulted in 3 very different components which added more complexity to the final blend. The Viognier was fermented for 14 days on skins and the Blanc Fumé juice was taken directly to barrel without settling to give more texture and complete fermentation. All the components spend 9 months in French Oak barrels of which 11% were new this year. We left all the wine on gross lees with regular batonnage to flesh out the wine. We racked and made up the blend and the only time we added SO2 was to protect the wine for the bottling process. We blended the 3 components to make sure that the wine is in absolute balance and the result this year is a 71% Chenin Blanc, 15% Viognier and 14% Blanc Fumé. We feel that we still continue to achieve our goal which is to have a serious, well-structured yet refreshingly fruity white wine.
Tasting Notes
Nose: spicy pear, cling peaches, citrus peel
Palate: pears, citrus bon-bons, textured mid pallet, medley of ripe plums, peaches, pears, long balanced citrusy finish
▸ Sources (1)
Producer Information
Website
Address
Van Der Stel Pass, Bot River, 7185, Western Cape, South Africa
Phone
+27 (0) 28 001 0516
Email
Owner
Niels and Penny Verburg
Cellarmaster
Niels Verburg & Alice Verburg