Wine Waterkloof, Seriously Cool Chenin Blanc, 2018
The Seriously Cool Chenin Blanc is one of the best examples of how Waterkloof allows their wines to express their true self. These wines are produced in a minimalistic way with minimal intervention throughout the winemaking process. The result is an exceptional fruity, floral and rich Chenin Blanc.
Characteristics
Wine Style:
White - This unique Chenin Blanc allows the terroir to express itself. The wine is crisp, fruity, and intense.
Tasting Notes:
Dusty notes of wet chalk, evocative of rain on wet slate. Full and tight orchard fruits like bruised apple and quince embedded with smoky aniseed noted. Rich and pleasant with a fine acidic finish
Gastronomy:
A lovely aperitif which also pairs well with light meals, meats and pasta. A very good combination with Asian cuisine.
Vineyards:
The Seriously Cool Chenin Blanc is produced from 30-40-year-old bush vine vineyards in the Helderberg and Stellenbosch regions. The Helderberg vineyards are close to the ocean, which ensure a long growing season and allow for ripe fruit with good concentration and balanced acidity. The Stellenbosch block still gets a nice cool breeze through the vineyards but does experience slightly warmer conditions which contribute to the beautiful richness in the wine. The Helderberg soils are of sandstone origin with medium-sized stones, which help with drainage and good moisture retention, whilst the Stellenbosch component is rooted in sandy soils.
Winemaking process:
A traditional, minimalistic approach which means that they interfere as little as possible with the winemaking process. It allows the flavours prevalent in that specific vineyard to ultimately express themselves in the wine. To achieve this goal, all grapes are whole-bunch pressed in a modern basket press, to extract the juice most gently. The juice is then allowed to settle for 12 hours after which it is racked from the settling tank into concrete eggs and also older 600-litre barrels. We do not inoculate the juice with commercially cultivated yeast but allow the wild yeast prevailing in the vineyard to ferment the juice. We also do not add acid or any enzymes during the process. The natural fermentation process took approximately 5 months to complete after which we left the wine in the barrels and eggs to develop further complexity. Only a light filtration was used before bottling.
