Vintage conditions

2019 was a cooler vintage than the previous hot and dry years. Whilst the vineyards benefited from decent winter rainfall there were some latent stress effects from the previous year’s drought conditions. This resulted in some uneven budding and careful harvesting was necessary to achieve a total pick of optimum ripeness. Cool conditions during the early part of the ripening resulted in high acidities and low pH, resulting in wines that are fresh, precise and bright.

Vinification details

Chenin Blanc grapes are handpicked and harvested for freshness and acidity at between 19.5º and 20.5º Balling. Grapes are pre-cooled and then whole bunch-pressed with the juice allowed to settle naturally. Half of the wine is naturally fermented in stainless steel tank, with fermentation being stopped to retain a certain percentage of the grapes own sugar. The barrel fermented portion is allowed to ferment naturally to dryness with periodic battonage of the lees throughout the ageing process of 10 months. Base wine components are then blended, bottled and refermented in bottle, followed by a minimum ageing of 18 months before disgorgement. Residual sugar of the disgorged wine is adjusted from time to time to maintain a final bottled residual sugar of between 3 and 5 g/l. This adjustment is done with a “Late Harvest” style of Chenin Blanc which is fermented and aged in French oak casks.