Neethlingshof The Maria Noble Late Harvest 2014

Colour: Golden yellow.
Bouquet: Fruit cake, dried apricot, honey and peach aromas.
Taste: Concentrated fruit cake with honey and marmalade and a good sugar acid balance with a fresh, fruity palate.

Excellent served on its own or with strong cheeses, fig preserve and nuts.

variety : Weisser Riesling [ 100% Weisser Riesling ]
winemaker : De Wet Viljoen
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 9.13 % vol  rs : 198 g/l  pH : 3.85  ta : 9.5 g/l  va : 1.49 g/l  so2 : 158 mg/l  fso2 : 20 mg/l  
type : Dessert  style : Sweet  taste : Fruity  
pack : Bottle  size : 750ml  closure : Cork  

AWARDS
2014 Nedbank Green Wine Awards - Bloggers’ Choice Award in the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI) category

ageing : Ready to enjoy now or can be matured for another decade.

Background
The Neethlingshof estate in Stellenbosch, owned equally by Distell and LUSAN), takes its name from its one-time 19th century owner, Marthinus Laurentius Neethling, who served as mayor of Stellenbosch and was also a member of the old Cape Parliament.

Neethlingshof’s reserve tier, The Short Story Collection, draws attention to the winery’s rich and varied narratives. The three limited edition wines in the collection each focus on a specific aspect of the estate’s philosophy or history. They are made exclusively from hand-picked grapes.

The Maria is the name of the acclaimed Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest and honours Maria Magdalena Marais, the resourceful and feisty young widow who took over the building of the estate’s manor house after the death of her husband, Charles, in 1813. The home was completed the following year and is now a national monument. Assisted by two teenage sons, the widow Marais was responsible for developing a vibrant and viable farming operation that included 80 000 vines to produce 30 leaguers of wine and 1.75 leaguers of brandy a year. At the time, the farm was named Wolwedans. However, some time after the marriage of her daughter, Anna Margaretha to Johannes Henoch Neethling, the name of the property was changed to Neethlingshof.

in the vineyard : 
The Maria’s grapes come from Neethlingshof's Weisser on the Hill and Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, exposed to the cooling mists of False Bay, which help to create the appropriate set of conditions under which botrytis cinerea (noble rot) can flourish to produce grapes of concentrated intensity.

The grapes were picked from south-facing dryland vines planted in 1991 and 1992 in deep, red soils and situated 140 to 170 metres above sea level.

about the harvest: The grapes were hand-picked at 40° - 44º Balling in April.

in the cellar : The juice was fermented at 13º to 14ºC over 18 days with just 24 hours' skin contact. No malolactic fermentation was allowed.

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