Technical Specifications
Alcohol 13.5%
Residual Sugar 2 g/L
Total Acidity 6.2 g/L
Calories (estimated) 115 kcal / glass
150ml glass115 kcal
750ml bottle575 kcal
Grape Varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot
Cabernet Sauvignon85%
Petit Verdot15%
Region Jonkershoek Valley
Soil Stoney decomposed granite, Clay subsoil
Elevation 540.0 meters
Orientation South Westerly
Vineyard Yield 5.5 hL/ha
Grapes Picked mid-March
Grape Clone 169, 23
Fermentation Vessels Open Top Fermenter, Oak Barrel
Natural Yeast Yes
Maceration 10 days
Oak Aging 22 months
Oak Details 50% First Fill New Oak
First Fill New Oak50%
Oak Types French
Barrel Size small
Unfined Yes
Unfiltered Yes
Vegan Yes
Vegetarian Yes
Production Volume 3,275 bottles
Bottles3,275
Production Details This is the sixth vintage of this single-vineyard wine, from one of Stellenbosch's highest elevation vineyards. It is characterized by its intense cassis flavours and orange-zest notes. This wine is based around the highest elevation vineyard on the farm – at 500 meters arguably one of Stellenbosch's highest Cabernet vineyards. Originally planted in 2003, it burned down in 2009 and was re-planted. It is an ideal combination of soil and site. It has a very stoney decomposed granite soil with a clay subsoil and it has an almost perfect aspect towards the afternoon sun. This aspect and elevation means that the vineyard receives almost 45 minutes more direct sunlight than Stellenbosch average. This is the sixth vintage of this wine after re-planting the vineyard. Our idea has always been to make what is basically a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from this unique vineyard – although it is not a true single-vineyard in that we have blended in a barrel selection of our very best Petit Verdot. The Cabernet has a very intense cassis aroma with unique citrus-rind notes. It has a firmer tannin structure than many of our wines, but still with the elegance for which Jonkershoek Valley wines are known. The 2019 was the fifth year of our ongoing drought, but paradoxically it was not a particularly warm growing season with no really severe heat spikes. The yields were extremely low with good fruit quality. The grapes were able to be harvested at relatively low sugar levels and produced wines with lower than average alcohol levels and excellent balance between fruit, acidity and tannin. All of the grapes were hand-picked in mid-March. This was our last vineyard to pick. The grapes were cooled overnight and then de-stemmed and carefully sorted. Fermentation was in small-lot open tanks. The wine was cold-soaked for two days before fermentation with natural yeasts. We did punchdowns 4-6 times a day during the vigorous part of fermentation and then 2 times towards the end. After about 10 days on the skins, the wine was pressed and racked to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation. The wine spent 22 months in barrel, all small French oak, about 50% new. Bottled with no fining and no filtration. This vineyard is organic-in-conversion.