2021 6x75cl

• 75cl bottle

Intense aromas of tropical fruit with granadilla and white peach. Zesty and flinty on the palate with the ever present herbaceous character from Sauvignon Blanc. Enjoy with fresh summer salads or lightly grilled chicken or fish dishes.

Vineyards

The grapes were sourced primarily from Stellenbosch, however, also sourced from Darling, Durbanville, Sondagskloof and Lutzville. The common denominator was that all vineyards are found within 15km from the ocean and thus the cooling sea breezes and deep red soils resulted in moderate growth which in turn provided a good canopy development for optimal grape ripening conditions

Vintage

Kleine Zalze concluded the 2021 harvest by mid-April. The wine is all safely in the winery and we are very happy with the vintage and extremely excited at this early stage about the exceptional wines that will flow from the 2021 crop. Excellent winter rains and late rains into spring ensured good moisture content in the soil with the onset of the growing season. The prolonged cool spring weather meant that bud burst was about two weeks later than normal and slightly uneven. The subsequent moderate to cool weather during flowering and berry set continued into the rest of the growing season. The much cooler than normal growing season meant that we started harvest two weeks later than normal. The cool weather also persisted through the harvest period leading to not only exceptional acidity in the grapes and wine but the best acid balance ever seen in our grapes and wine. The harvest was briefly interrupted by a fairly large rain event, of nearly 60mm, early in March. This was initially a cause for some concern. However, moderate and dry weather following the rain actually ensured a long healthy ripening for our grapes and the late ripening varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, reached physiological ripeness at lower sugar levels than normal. All in all, the vintage resulted in wines that have amazing balance and finesse and what they may not have in power they will make up with great purity and elegance.

Winemaking

All the vineyard parcels were harvested at optimum ripeness and vinified separately. The grapes were only picked in the early morning to ensure they arrived at the cellar in optimum condition and all efforts were made to limit their exposure to oxygen. All the grapes were given 12 to 36 hours extended skin contact before only the free-run juice was transferred to tank for fermentation. The wines were fermented at low temperatures with selected yeast strains to highlight each vineyard’s specific characteristics. After fermentation the wine was left for a further four months in contact with the lees before putting the final blend together.

Enjoy with:

• Grilled and Roasted White Meats
• Fish/Shellfish
• Salads and Picnics

Try with a pea and asparagus risotto