Lotte about this wine

Weeds don’t die… My life motto! But also the motto of this grape, because the Sémillon produces wines that can often age for decades. It’s a bit neglected in my view. But one with enormous potential and perhaps because of that my favorite grape. The secret of eternal youth!

The Hemel en Aarde Ridge (insanely beautiful name) region is located in Hermanus, an hour’s drive east of Cape Town. This is where my Sémillon vineyards are located. It is slightly cooler here because it is close to the sea. The soil is a combination of a ferruginous red-colored rock, called Koffieklip and Koue Bokkeveld Shale. I made the wine in my cellar in Stellenbosch. I picked the grapes early in the morning, pressed them in the winery and then let them rest in 300 liter wooden barrels.

It was only after nine months that I bottled the wine, with a little bit of sulphite to allow it to survive the great crossing to the Netherlands without any problems. Everything according to my winemaking philosophy: Unfined and Unflitered.

The wine is a chameleon with many fish dishes: Try smoked mackerel or salmon. But it also holds up well with a piece of fried sole.

Vineyard

All grapes come from one vineyard in Paardeberg Mountain. The vineyard was planted in 1997 and all grapes are Gobelet pruned (Bush Vines). There is no irrigation. From 2014, organic work has been done in the vineyard and no chemicals are used. The soil consists mainly of weathered granite and the vineyard has a slope towards the southwest.

Vinification

The grapes are harvested at different sugar levels to ensure the wine has good pH and acidity, along with good structure and aromas. Oxidation before the start of fermentation is allowed to improve complexity and shelf life of the wine. The wine is fermented in mainly (90%) stainless steel at a lower temperature (14C), the rest of the wine is fermented in used wooden barrels of 300L. 20% of the grapes are completely fermented on the skins with a total of two weeks of skin contact. The wine is aged for 7 months in stainless steel and used wooden barrels, after which the wine is blended and bottled in September. The wine is not clarified and not filtered.

Wood education

The wine is aged for 7 months in stainless steel and used wooden barrels.

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