Technical Specifications
Alcohol 13.16%
Residual Sugar 2.2 g/L
pH 3.24
Total Acidity 6.3 g/L
Calories (estimated) 110 kcal / glass
150ml glass110 kcal
750ml bottle550 kcal
Grape Varieties Semillon Blanc, Semillon Gris
Semillon Blanc
Semillon Gris
Region Western Cape
Soil Alluvial granite soil
Vine Age 57 year old
Fermentation Vessels Oak Barrel
Pressing Method Whole Cluster
Natural Yeast Yes
Oak Types Austrian
Contains Added Sulfites Yes
Unfined Yes
Unfiltered Yes
Production Details The 2021/2022 growing season was one of great contrast. A cold, wet winter and cool, wet spring were followed by an incredibly hot and dry January. Thankfully soil water reserves were sufficient to sustain our vineyard canopy. Diligent work in the vineyards averted the worst of the disease pressure created by the wetter spring conditions. The January heatwaves did cause some damage, but careful picking meant that what was taken into the cellar was of very good quality, and we are really happy with the balance achieved here. Semillon, especially from these old clone vineyards, has come to epitomise what we are seeking in our wines. It provides us with wines of texture and depth, with very little of the overbearing primary fruit aromatics that we see in so much modern clones. We've stuck with a very simple, natural formula for vinifying our wines in order to remain true to the vineyards that we work with. 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 into a mix of large new and smaller old oak barrels. Semillon has a tendency to become very reductive during maturation so we generally do some racking at the end of fermentation to leave the heaviest lees behind, and have begun to work with a short maturation time in large, new Austrian oak barrels to balance this tendency. We add some sulphur dioxide late in the winter and then again at bottling, keeping the level of sulphur dioxide very low in the wine. The wines are bottled without fining and filtration to provide as natural an expression of old vines Semillon as possible.
Tasting Notes
pear, blackcurrant leaf, black tea, orange marmalade, dark honey, almond skin, honeycomb
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Producer Information
Website
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Owner
John and Tasha Seccombe
Cellarmaster
John Seccombe