Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2022

SEASONAL CONDITIONS:

An exceptionally wet winter made canopy management, suckering and leaf breakage extremely important. Budding and berry development was excellent. Winter was very cold and kept the wines dormant until spring and moderate summer conditions ensured even ripening and above average yields of excellent quality grapes, resulting in complex, layered wines with fresh and pure flavours.

TASTING NOTES:

A lightly wooded wine that shows layers of passionfruit, lime, and citrus on the nose, with elderflower tones towards the finish. The palate is smooth and elegant with well-integrated, lightly toasted oak, ruby grapefruit, citrus and captivating lemon flavours.

VITICULTURE:

The Certified Heritage Vineyard that produces our Chenin Blanc grapes was planted in 1974. It is a dry land, trellised and low yielding vineyard that produces exceptional fruit. The north west facing vineyard has ancient decomposed granite soil, that adds to the minerality in the wine.

VINICULTURE:

Harvested by hand in the early morning, cool grapes were delivered to the winery. The grapes were then chilled to 5°C to minimise oxidation prior to whole-bunch pressing. The chilled juice was settled for 72 hours and racked to different fermentation vessels. A portion of the wine was fermented in 500L French oak barrels whilst other portions were fermented separately using different yeast strains, which added to the complexity of the final blend. The wine was aged for 12 months before blending and was bottled on 29 August 2023.

Strictly limited production of 1284 bottles.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Pairs very well with most seafood, including salmon, calamari, mussels, lobster and prawns, as well as paella and seafood curry. Compliments poultry, vegetable dishes and fresh garden salads. Exceptional with roast duck and partners well with cheese platters. The wine has sufficient structure to pair with barbecued lamb or pork chops. Serve chilled.