De Grendel Brut MCC 2009

Fresh apple flavours and sweet tropical fruit backed by some biscuit richness. The fruit weight fills out the mid-palate and the mineral crispness ensures a well balanced wine with substantial length.

A perfect fit for luxury foods: Oysters (even oysters Rockefeller), foie gras, especially when flavoured with truffle shavings or truffle oil. Fine smoked salmon or other smoked fish or for something slightly more extravagant, enjoy with gently-flavoured types of caviar such as beluga. It will be brilliant with most Chinese and Thai dishes, but fantastic with Japanese sushi, sashimi or other raw-fish dishes.

variety : Chardonnay [ 68% Chardonnay; 32% Pinot Noir ]

winery : De Grendel Wines

winemaker : Charles Hopkins & Elzette du Preez

wine of origin :

analysis : alc : 12 % vol rs : 6.2 g/l pH : 3.42 ta : 6.3 g/l

type : Sparkling

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

ageing : Enjoy now or keep for another two years.

in the vineyard : We experienced one of the wettest and coldest winters in a long time in the Western Cape. We had fantastic rain showers as late as November that ensured a higher water table and buffer for the 2009 crop. Although we experienced quite high temperatures through the picking season in 2009, the vines in general were now well protected by the high water reserves. Due to these conditions the crop was 10 to 14 days later and 10% down in yield, but this again ensured more concentration in flavours.

about the harvest: In the industry, the 2009 harvest was one of the best vintages in terms of quality on both red and white varieties.

in the cellar : This wine is a blend of 68% Chardonnay and 32% Pinot Noir. The grapes were whole bunch pressed (to ensure a very elegant wine), the juice settled and racked to another tank where we inoculated with yeast. Once fermentation finished the base wine was filtered and then bottled on the 26th of June 2009 with the tirage (yeast and sugar mix) for the second fermentation to take part in the bottle – in the true Method Cap Classique manner.

The wine spend 15 months on the lees in the bottle to mature and to ensure a complex wine with a combination of fruit and biscuit flavours, before it was riddled and degorged.

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