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Circumstance Viognier 2008

A wine that combines elegance with power. White peach & violets with hints of apricot flavours carry through on the tight mineral finish.

variety : Viognier [ 100% Viognier ]
winery : Waterkloof
winemaker : Werner Engelbrecht
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 13.5 % vol  rs : 3.7 g/l  pH : 3.37  ta : 5.2 g/l  va : 0.52 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry  body : Medium  taste : Mineral   wooded
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  
in the vineyard : Circumstance Viognier is produced from windswept, low yielding slopes of Schapenberg Hill. Strong winds churn up the vineyards with regularity. This allows for low production and intense flavors. The vineyards are about four kilometres from the sea, and are planted at a height of between 270 and 300 metres above sea level. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium-sized stones, helping with drainage, but also a very good ability to retain moisture. The vineyards are an average age of 11 years. Production was approximately 3 t/ha.

GROWING SEASON 2008
A winter which provided much needed rain and cold weather was followed by a cool, wet spring. The regular rains during spring and the early parts of the summer did lead to higher than normal disease pressure. We had to increase our spraying intervals in order to insure that our vineyards stay free from disease. Cloudy periods during flowering resulted in irregular set. Bunches were loose and the berries small which allowed for an even veraison.

about the harvest: The cool weather during spring followed through into the early parts of summer. It allowed us to pick the whites during cool conditions.

in the cellar : The winemaking philosophy for all our premium white wines from Waterkloof is the same. We follow a traditional, minimalistic approach which means that we interfere as little as possible with the winemaking process. It allows the flavours prevalent in that specific vineyard to express itself. To achieve this goal all grapes are whole bunch pressed to ensure that we extract the juice in the gentlest way. The juice is then allowed to settle for 24 hours, after which it is racked from the settling tank into 600 liter barrels. The naturally occurring yeast or “wild yeast” was allowed to start the fermentation and took 4 months to complete. It was matured for a further 6 months in barrel after which it was racked. Only a light filtration was used prior to bottling.

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OTHER VINTAGES

Circumstance Viognier 2010
Viognier
Circumstance Viognier 2008
Viognier