Having been the first to introduce Viognier in South Africa we have had opportunities to try interesting styles with this varietal. This Special Late Harvest is the first to be made using Viognier and the wine really accentuates the fragrance of the grape.
IN THE VINEYARD:
Grapes are from a Viognier block on the upper slopes of the Fairview farm. This is a trellised vineyard, on well drained, decomposed granite soils. This is an irrigated vineyard and was planted 2001.
HARVEST DATE:
16th of February 2009
WINEMAKING:
Grapes were hand harvested at 28.4 degrees balling, when the skins were a deep golden colour. The yield on the vineyard was 6.5 tons per hectare. The grapes were whole bunch pressed into stainless steel settling tanks and the juice was racked after two days for fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted 18 days, after which we stopped the fermentation by bringing the temperature down 8 degrees Celsius. This leaves us with a higher residual sugar. The wine was fined and filtered before and bottling.
WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS:
This is a wine that continues to show an interesting side to Viognier which has a lot of potential. I think that it will be at its best after a year or two in the bottle. Anthony de Jager
TASTING NOTE:
Floral honeysuckle abounds on the nose along with fresh grape aromas. The wine has sufficient tannin and body to back up the sweetness and ensure that this is much more than just a simple late harvest. Good length on the finish.
WINE ANALYSIS:
Wine of Origin Paarl
Alcohol 11.59%
Residual sugar 42.8 g/l
Total acid 7.1 g/l
pH 3.08
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