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Keermont Riverside Chenin Blanc 2020
R493.00
“Lovely faint lime hue. The aromas are fresh with delicate floral notes of lily and salted cashew and a soft indication of oak. Classic old vine Chenin Blanc. Floral notes give way to youthful fruit aromas of mandarin zest and fresh white pear. Fruit is lightly seasoned with toasted ssame and spicy undertones. The palate is crisp and dry up front, with racy acidity and a long finish. White fruit notes follow through from the nose, and pear and Granny Smith apple flavours are most evident. After some time in the glass, it shows cumin and ginger spice with characteristic salinity and light texture on the finish.” – winemaker’s tasting notes
The yield from the Riverside Chenin Blanc vineyard is so low that every bunch is used to make this wine. The vineyard is hand-picked in small sections according to where the grapes are perfectly ripe. The fruit is normally golden yellow in colour and peppered with delicious raisins. The grapes are crushed before being basket-pressed straight to the barrels where the juice will ferment. Fermentation is carried out by yeast which occurs naturally on the grape skins and in the winery. This wine was fermented and then spent a further 11 months maturing on the lees in three seasoned 500L French oak barrels. Bottling was carried out by hand and only 1665 bottles and 50 magnums of this wine were produced.
Winter temperatures leading up to the 2020 harvest were moderate, with below average rainfall. Fortunately, they had a wet spring which prompted the vines to grow strong and develop a decent size crop. Early season was marked by erratic temperatures with several heat spikes. These factors made farming quite tough with increased pressure from disease and insects. The vineyard team worked hard to prepare a healthy crop. Mid-summer temperatures were moderate, although we did experience a short heat wave in January. This was followed by a gale-force south-east wind which hammered the vineyards. This resulted in the grapes ripening quickly. Although they started picking at a normal time, by 10 March they had picked all the grapes for their wines.
ANALYSIS: ALC 14% | TA 5.2 g/l | RS 1.6 g/l | pH 3.42
2 in stock
Description
Keermont Vineyards created their Single Vineyard Series in order to showcase the quality and specific character of the wines produced from these single vineyard parcels, all on the farm. Due to the nature of each wine, production is very small and when a particular growing season does not result in fruit good enough for these wines, none will be released.
There are four wines that currently make up the Single Vineyard Series: two Syrahs, one Cabernet Franc and one old vine Chenin Blanc.
Planted in 1971, Riverside Chenin Blanc is the oldest vineyard on Keermont and one of the oldest blocks of Chenin blanc in Stellenbosch. Soils on the banks of the Blaauwklippen River, in which the vines are planted, vary from sandy alluvial plains with riverstone to red clay loam as one moves away from the river. This patchy old vineyard, at an elevation of 250m above sea level, delivers very low yields of incredible quality fruit year in and year out. Like the old vines from which it is made, this wine has great complexity and character with quiet intensity. A proud member of the Old Vine Project (www.oldvineproject.co.za).
Additional Information
| Producer | Keermont |
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