Stellenzicht Golden Triangle Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Colour: Bright, crisp and sparkling, the wine entices with its ever-so-slight green tinge which should take on a slight golden hue with a further few months in the bottle.
Bouquet: Very subtle and delicate tones of fig and green pepper will develop into a more complex array of gooseberries, litchis and even some honey with time.
Taste: Not being a "jump-out-of-your-glass-wine", the initial taste is as delicate as the bouquet is while the mouth-feel opens up a whole new arena of subtly crisp flavours ending in a wonderfully long, clean aftertaste.

Suggested accompaniments include fresh green salads with apple, asparagus with zesty vinaigrette splashes and the winemaker's personal favourite - Coronation Chicken.

variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Guy Webber & Samantha de Morney-Hughes
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.15 % vol  rs : 3.3 g/l  pH : 3.23  ta : 6 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry  
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  

ageing : Under the correct cellaring conditions, the wine should reach its full potential by the age of around 2 years.

in the vineyard : Background
Flanked by the Helderberg and Stellenbosch Mountain, between Stellenbosch and the False Bay coast, lies an exceptional tract of land that benefits from terroirs eminently suited to the cultivation of the highest quality wine grapes. This jewel in the crown of the magnificent Stellenbosch wine-growing region is known as the Golden Triangle. At its core lies Stellenzicht.

The award-winning Stellenzicht range reserves its Golden Triangle label for those wines which most eloquently demonstrate the unique terroir of this special part of the Helderberg, home to some of South Africa's most exceptional wines.

Vineyards (viticulturist: Johan Mong)
Planted between 1985 and 2004, the vineyards from which the fruit for this wine was sourced are grown in decomposed granite at altitudes some 110m to 340m above sea level. The vines are all grafted onto nematode-resistant Richter 99 and 110 rootstocks and trellised on vertical five-wire systems.

Winter pruning was done to two spurs but with selected "Cazenave" bearers allowing the vineyards to yield an average of 3.6 tons per hectare. The vines received supplementary irrigations at veraison and just before ripeness.

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested by hand between 16 February and 2 March 2010 and at an average of 22.8° Balling.

in the cellar : After destalking, crushing and over-night draining, the free-run juice was allowed to settle for 48 hours with the clear juice being transferred to fresh stainless-steel tanks where fermentation was induced by the inoculation of pure yeast strains (Vin 7 and Vin 13) specially selected for relatively cool ferments. Fermentation took place at an average of 14°C and lasted for around 19 days.

Once this process was completed, the tanks were each topped up, cooled down to 9°C and the wine left to rest on its primary lees for two months. The lees-contact helps to increase the mouth-feel of the final product as it adsorbs the autolised yeast cells back into the wine. Final blending, stabilisation and filtration completed the process and a total of 2,607 cases were first filled on 13 June 2010.

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Sauvignon Blanc
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Sauvignon Blanc
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Sauvignon Blanc