Winemaking
Garnacha in Spain, but ubiquitous to the South of France.
The only block in Calitzdorp, this is the first vintage.
Later ripening at the end of February, picked around 24ᴼ Balling in early morning to ensure grapes arrive at the cellar as cool as possible.
Grapes are crushed into an open fermenting tank with cooling. The first vintage, a lighter approach in the cellar as a start to assess the possibilities! Gentle punch downs and earlier to the press to avoid over-extraction of bitter tannins – particularly for a first pick.
Fermentation takes place over 5 or 6 days. Inoculation takes place with commercial yeast, but generally after a period of initial wild yeast fermentation.
Towards the end of alcoholic fermentation (AF), free run wine is transferred to the tank and the skins are pressed, and the juice is added to the free run if deemed appropriate. After a brief period of settling in the tank, the wine is transferred to barrel for malolactic fermentation (MF), after which the wine is racked off the MLF lees and returned to well-seasoned oak with a view to preserving the typical fruit characters of the variety.
Bottled after 9 months of barrel ageing to secure freshness. The wine undergoes further ageing in our cellar before it is ready for the market – some 5 months.
