The 2009 Chardonnay offers a complexity of flavours, including ripe citrus overlaid with traces of clove, ginger, butterscotch and vanilla. It is a full-bodied wine that can be enjoyed chilled.
Smoked salmon, white fish, creamy pasta dishes, pork or chicken.
variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]
winemaker : Wynand Lategan
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.39 % vol rs : 3.83 g/l pH : 3.52 ta : 5.6 g/l
type : White style : Dry body : Full taste : Mineral wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Vineyard blocks: Seven different vineyard blocks, D4, D5, L3, L5, L10, L11 & L12
Area: 4.45 ha in total
Crop size: 62 tons
Tons per ha: 14 t/ha
Altitude: 166m - 375m
Age of vines: 16(D4), 14 (D5), 8 (L12), 16 (L5), 17 (L3), 16 (L10) and 8 (L11) years.
Rootstock: Richter 99, Mgt 101/14
Clones: CY8 (D5), CY277/CY95A (L3), CY 95 (L12)
Soil: Deep well drained red (D5 and D4). Deep stony sand (L5, L10, L11 and L12) and medium deep well drained yellow (L3).
Plant direction: N/S
Trellising: 5-wire Perold system. Sufficient to accommodate the vigour of the vines and to ensure good distribution of shoots, leaves and bunches.
Density: 3 600 vines per ha on average.
Space between rows: 2.5m (L11, L12), 1.8m (L3, L10), 2.1m (D5)
Space between vines: 1.5m (L12), 1.2m (L3), 1m (D5).
Irrigation: Micro spitters controlled by computer system through moisture metres and tensiometres. This enables stress management of the vines to produce optimum fruit quality. This is done in accordance with the water retention ability of the specific vineyard block.
Canopy management: Optimal balance between vigour and crop load is achieved by pruning through the correct number of bearer eyes (2). Summer manipulation in the form of suckering; shoot thinning and positioning complement the winter pruning.
in the cellar : The grapes were picked between 22.5° and 24° Balling with whole bunches crushed without prior destemming to ensure a prominent fruit character as well as a well-rounded wine. After pressing, the juice was settled in stainless-steel tanks for 48 hours at 12 - 14°C before the fermentation of the clear juice was started in the same tanks. The juice fermented was directly transferred to 300 litre French oak barrels here fermentation took place.
A third of the wine was fermented with natural yeasts. This ensures a 'softer' wine with complexity. The barrels used on the Chardonnay were 40% new and 30% 2nd fill and 30% 3rd fill. After fermentation in the barrels, the wine stayed on the lees. The wine was sulphured and left to mature in the barrels for seven months. Batonnage was done every week for 6 months. 25% of the 2009 Chardonnay was fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks to add a wine with a higher acidity and freshness.