in the vineyard : Soil: Low-vigour, stony, clay-rich, shale-derived soil.
Growing Season
For the Cape overall, the 2005 vintage has been characterized as hot, dry and early. This was not the case for our own vineyards in the cool, maritime Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. While the 2005 harvest was a little warmer than 2004, it was cooler than 2003. The average maximum temperature for December, January, February and March was 25 centigrade – exactly equal to our long-term averages for this period. January was however cooler than average. Rainfall was average for December, wet for January, average for February and dry for March.