WEATHER CONDITIONS – Simonsberg, Stellenbosch
- Following harvest 2021 the conditions were cool and dry, leading to later leaf fall than usual.
- Budding was even but occurred 7 days later than for the previous vintage.
- Continued low temperatures in spring, meant that flowering was delayed by 10 days.
- Significant rainfall had a challenging effect on flowering and berry set.
- Moderate temperatures throughout the early summer ensured a balanced growth.
- January and February were marked by dry and hot weather spell, with multiple heat spikes occurring over this period.
- However, even with those spikes, we did not see a significant acceleration in ripening.
- The yields were small but of high quality, and picking had to be timed carefully to ensure freshness in the resulting wines.
WINEMAKING
- The grapes were lightly crushed and gently pressed.
- The juice was transferred to two stainless steel fermenters where it underwent spontaneous fermentation (wild ferment from indigenous yeasts).
- The two tanks ran at different temperatures. One at 13 degrees and the other at 16 degrees.
- The wine was not allowed to go through malolactic fermentation and was left on the lees until bottling took place.
GRAPE VARIETIES : 100% Chardonnay
PRODUCTION : 5,345 cases – 32,072 bottles
ANALYSIS : Alcohol: 12.5% Vol.; pH: 3.17; Total Acidity: 5.87 g/L; Residual Sugar: 1.41 g/L
