Technical Specifications
Alcohol 13.4%
Residual Sugar 1.13 g/L
pH 3.44
Total Acidity 5.33 g/L
Calories (estimated) 110 kcal / glass
150ml glass110 kcal
750ml bottle550 kcal
Grape Varieties Chenin Blanc
Chenin Blanc100%
Region Swartland
Soil Granite, Weathered granite
Vine Age 39 year old vineyard
Fermentation Vessels Oak Barrel
Pressing Method Whole Cluster
Natural Yeast Yes
Oak Types oak
Production Details The 2018 vintage saw little respite from the drought which has gripped the Western Cape over the last few years. Low moisture reserves in the Paardeberg make for challenging conditions in the best of years, and we had to pay a lot of attention to ensure that we could harvest ripe, healthy grapes with sufficient acidity. Our key focus during harvest is picking times. If we can pick grapes at the right time, we can achieve tension and ripeness in the wine without the need to manipulate and “dress-up” the wines. Chenin blanc on granite is something that we have worked with for all the years that we have been making our Thorne and Daughters wines, and this wine made its debut with the 2017 vintage bottling. Unfortunately, yields of Chenin were very low in 2018, so we were only able to bottle 50% of what we would have liked to do, but we have certainly won-out in terms of concentration and quality here. As with all of our wines, the winemaking is incredibly simple, as we have no desire to stand between the vineyard and its expression as a wine in the glass. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed in an old basket press and there are no additions of sulphur dioxide made on the juice. A rough settling follows pressing after which the wines undergo natural alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in old oak barrels. We add some sulphur dioxide late in the winter, and then again at bottling, keeping the level of sulphur dioxide as low as possible. The result is wines that show tension without losing their suppleness and core, and wines that will reward time in the cellar.
Tasting Notes
ground almonds, frangipane flowers, white peaches
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Owner
John and Tasha Seccombe
Cellarmaster
John Seccombe