Wine Waterkloof, Circumstance Chenin Blanc, 2019
Waterkloof's dedication to minimalistic, biodynamic and organic wines has brought on this exquisite Chenin Blanc. With minimal intervention, a raw expression of the wine was established, allowing for a powerful and balanced embodiment of this intricate variety.
Characteristics
Wine Style:
White - An intriguing wine with smooth, buttery notes, complexity, and fresh acidity.
Tasting Notes:
Easy to appreciate this wine's intriguing complexity ranging from beautiful stone and citrus fruits to floral notes on the nose. The palate shows great length and fresh acidity. Enjoy it with a variety of dishes such as roast chicken or a simple cheese platter.
Gastronomy:
Pairs well with cheese, roast chicken, grilled vegetables BBQ meats.
Vineyards:
Circumstance Chenin Blanc is produced from low yielding, bush vines, situated approximately 4km from The Atlantic Ocean. These conditions ensure a cooler and longer growing season and allow for ripe fruit with good concentration and higher natural acidity. The soils are of sandstone origin, with medium-sized stones helping with drainage. They also have a very good ability to retain moisture.
Winemaking process:
We follow a traditional, minimalistic approach which means that we interfere as little as possible with the winemaking process. This allows the flavours prevalent in that specific vineyard to be expressed in the bottle. All grapes are hand-picked to ensure that only the finest berries are brought in to the cellar by our horses. We harvest according to taste and spend most of our time in the vineyards to see how the flavours develop. All grapes are sorted by hand and then whole-bunch pressed in our modern basket press to extract the juice in the gentlest way. The juice is then settled naturally for 24 hours, after which it is racked from the settling tank into 600-litre barrels. The naturally occurring yeasts or “wild yeasts” are allowed to start the fermentation process. We do not employ battonage nor do we add any acid or enzymes during the winemaking process, only a small addition of sulphur as a preservative and a light filtration prior to bottling.
Interesting notes:
At Waterkloof, we use organic and biodynamic methods based on Old World, sustainable practices in our vineyards to ensure that the vines are nourished, healthy and in balance. Our soils are free of chemicals and are kept healthy by using plant extracts, fungi and bacteria from our own organic compost.
