The fruit for this Chenin Blanc is hand-harvested off a number of low yielding blocks on Leeuwenkuil farm in the Swart- land and Welgegund in Wellington. On Leeuwenkuil the fruit came from vines of between 10 and 30 years of age. Welgegund sits in the horseshoe above Wellington town, and the vines were planted in 1974. This is a certified heritage vineyard under South Africa’s Old Vine Project, designed to preserve the surviving old vineyards of South Africa. The Leeuwenkuil grapes were cold-fermented in a stainless steel tank using natural yeast. The grapes from Welgegund were whole bunch pressed and barrel-fermented using natural yeast. The press was very gentle, yielding only around 550 litres of juice per ton for optimum quality. The wine was blended and tank stabilized before being bottled fairly young. Focus is on creating length and palate texture, with racy acidity.
