Rietvallei Special Select Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Rietvallei Special Select Sauvignon Blanc is a full-bodied, complex wine with excellent varietal expression. Lots of work in the vineyard and minimal interference in the cellar allows this wine to express its terroir to the fullest. Elegant, lively and finely balanced, this Sauvignon Blanc is tightly wound around a core of crisp, flinty and mineral notes. Its vibrancy is amplified with nuances of ripe Cape gooseberry, a touch of capsicum and succulent grapefruit. The sleek mouth-feel, revealing hints of asparagus, culminates in an elegant, crisp and decidedly dry finish.

Pair with lemon and chilli spiked oysters, any seafood, poultry and salads.Serve chilled (7° - 10° C).

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variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]

winery : Rietvallei Wine Estate

winemaker : Kobus Burger

wine of origin :

analysis : alc : 12.82 % vol rs : 1.77 g/l pH : 3.23 ta : 8.36 g/l va : 0.52 g/l so2 : 120 mg/l fso2 : 38 mg/l

type : White style : Dry body : Full taste : Fragrant

pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork

AWARDS

2013 Veritas Wine Awards - Silver
2013 Michelangelo International Wine Awards - Gold

in the vineyard : The grapes for the making of this special cuvee were partially sourced from a farm in the Durbanville area and the balance from estate grown Robertson grapes. The grapes from the estate are from a vineyard planted in 1983 and 1984 in deep alluvial soil on the banks of the Breederiver.

The selection process for this special cuvée already started with the identification of this specific vineyard and working at it with special care from pruning right through to harvesting ensuring a low yield (approximately 8 tons per hectare) and premium quality.

about the harvest: The grapes from Durbanville were picked by hand at optimum ripeness at 23° B (Brix) and the Robertson grapes from the estate in two batches. The first, greener picking, at 19° B and the riper portion at 21° B.

in the cellar : In the cellar extreme reductive wine making methods were followed with the extensive use of CO2 in the form of dry ice (CO2 pellets) on the grapes and juice and CO2 gas on the wine right until bottling. After crushing and skin contact for 6 hours only the free-run juice was selected. After three days of cold settling at 0° C the clean juice was racked and taken to the fermentation tanks where each portion it were inoculated with a specific cultivated yeast strain and fermentation electronically controlled and kept between 13 - 15° C. After fermentation, which took about three weeks at this cold temperature, the wine was left on the primary fermentation lees for five months during which time it was stirred regularly. The wine was then fined clean (not filtered) and finally bottled early August 2012.

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