Reflections from Paul Clüver Family Wines' harvest season
With the 2024 grape harvest having finished at Paul Clüver Family Wines in the middle of March, the vineyards are bare of fruit, their leaves now slowly taking on their golden-brown autumnal hues before they will drop off in winter. Post-Easter rain has replenished the soils, and soon the planting of cover crops will commence as another cycle begins in the Year of the Vine.
With all the grapes harvested and the juice fermented into young wines, the cellar has returned to its monastic silence as winemakers and staff talk in revered tones about the status of the various varieties in their respective maturation vessels, comment on particular traits emanating from vintage 2024 and predict how these wines will further age before bottling. You don’t work in wine, you live with it.
Harvesting commenced on Paul Clüver in the second week of February this year with the younger Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, the harvest pushed forward by dry conditions over the Cape during December and January. These earlier picked grapes were an indication of things to come, showing that the drier conditions, which had resulted in sparser grape yields, had triggered tremendous fruit-concentration in the berries, which were smaller than usual. Less grape, but more fruit was the word.
And as the more mature blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were ripe for picking towards end February, particularly for the Paul Clüver Estate and Seven Flags ranges, a truer impression of this year’s crop could be reached.
Denser skins on the Pinot Noir for silky tannins and deeper colour. Gorgeous fruit profiles on the Chardonnay with just the correct degree of perky acidity. And, the result of Paul Clüver’s diligent vineyard management programme during the growing season, grapes were of optimal health.
While most of Cape’s other regions continued to bask in a hot summer, Elgin’s reputation as a cool climate area stayed true. Daytime temperatures during harvest were in the mid 20°C, while by the end of February night’s were cooling down into the teens. This evening-cool is vital during harvest as it freshens up the grapes and the chemical balance ahead of the next morning’s pick.
The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay undergo wild, spontaneous fermentations which can be for as long a period as 10 weeks. The aroma of just-fermented wine is still hanging in the cellar, while the youthful offerings of vintage 2024 are being scrutinised by Andries Burger and his team, with all round impressions of a distinctive wine year of exceptional quality.
From apple orchards to vineyards
For years, visitors to our farm would have taken a road running between apple orchards to get to the restaurant and tasting room. Last year the entrance looked totally different after the orchards had been removed, leaving a vast empty spread of Bokkeveld shale soil looking out onto the mountains of the Groenlandberg.
This year, however, these patches of land will be hives of activity for they are to be planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards – not only for the making of wine, but also to give visitors to Paul Clüver Family Wines an immersive visual vineyard experience upon entering the main drive.
Currently the earth is being ripped by bull-dozers, a vital process required to loosen the hard layers of earth so as to open-up the drainage systems the young vines will require. Chalk, phosphate and kalium has also been laid on the surface, and with the ripping-process these necessary elements will be worked into the soil to balance the acidity and stimulate general soil health. Thus, when the new Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines are planted in August over the five hectares of virgin Paul Clüver earth, their environment will be ready for them to grow in, and to flourish. And produce more great wines.
Back by popular demand: Clüver & Jack Cider
Clüver & Jack is back. Stocks of this popular artisanal cider made from Elgin apples in its noticeable packaging are back on the shelves, and Clüver&Jack fans can be sure to find these nifty glass bottles holding the best crisp apply cider at their usual outlets. With the popularity in cider growing world-wide, Clüver&Jack offers a crafted cider made from various apple cultivars offering Elgin’s other great taste, and that is the fruit of its apple orchards.
Click HERE to purchase your case.
