Durbanville Hills Biesjes Craal Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Brilliant green with hints of gold.  The nose is a well balanced combination of fresh green pepper, gooseberry and asparagus with earthy flavours and a touch of passion fruit.  Crisp and fresh with a hint of asparagus, underlined by green pepper and a slight grassiness. A long lingering aftertaste reminds of lime and winter melon.

In the Vineyard

The winter preceding the 2010 vintage was wet and cold and the crucial flavour producing ripening period for Sauvignon Blanc grapes was cool and dry, resulting in very healthy grapes with small berries with concentrated flavour. The untrellised block gave intense earthy, peppery flavours in the grapes which we prefer for this single vineyard wine. The grapes for this wine were harvested from a steep south-facing vineyard situated at an altitude of 320 m and growing in deep and red soil.

In the Cellar

The crushed fruit were given 10 hours' skin contact to extract all possible flavour before the juice was cold fermented between 12° - 14° C. Dry ice was used to protect the must and young wine against oxidation. After fermentation, it was left on the fermentation lees for three months to allow the yeast cells to break up and release the inherent flavours and create a structure for aging over the next few years.

This single-vineyard wine takes its name from Biesjes Craal, an early outpost in what is now Milnerton, where salt was collected and oxen outspanned to graze and rest.