Made from grapes sourced from a very old dryland vineyard in the Piekenierskloof region planted in 1965, the main objective was to let this interesting fruit source speak for itself and show its typicity and specific character, ancient bush vines with a great view!
The result? A tribute to the age and concentration of the vines, the low yield and the non-intrusive way of creating this wine. A tight, bright, mineral wine with texture and mouthfeel and a hint of phenolic structure, a soft acidity and a pear drop intensity. Crafted to age and gain complexity in the bottle, the 2015 Ken Forrester Dirty Little Secret will sell from the cellar door at R950 per bottle, with only 8 barrels produced.
“We decided to make this Chenin completely natural. All wild yeasts, spontaneous fermentation, no sulphur until after malolactic fermentation with 14 days of skin and stalk contact pre-fermentation. It then went into beautiful old, neutral 400 litre French barrels for five months after which it was bottled unfiltered and unfined to comply with all natural rules and laws.”
Travelling the Chenin road for quite some time, Ken launched his first Chenin in 1995, today known as the KF Old Vine Reserve. Then came the hugely successful The FMC from the 2000 vintage. Since then they’ve soldiered on with the brands and worked with wild yeasts, barrels and low SO2 levels and this newfound trend of natural winemaking caught his eye, especially the cloudy unstable technically dirty examples that vaunt their naturalness.
“I knew making this wine was going to be an extreme challenge, because somehow I had to make a wine that could show the age, experience of the vines and showcase the terroir. I wanted to present it as a unique one off, not just an extension of what I already do, but a single vintage by vintage challenge to show the year and the place in the most natural winemaking way possible and a wine that will hopefully lift the price ceiling for whites with its solid volume of production.
In many aspects this was a trip back in time to make a thoroughly modern wine. It's unfiltered and unfined. Just a dirty little secret - naturally!”