Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2022 6x75cl

Lively and herbaceous with crisp layers of fruit. Intense palate with tropical and green elements. A serious wine with a long future. Will reward careful cellaring for the next 5 years.

Vineyards

The grapes were selected from vineyards in Durbanville and Darling, all near the cooling breeze of the Atlantic Ocean. Due to a cool, wet spring, budding was seven to 14 days later than usual, but consistently good and even, promising a great vintage. Some leaf plucking in the bunch zone early in December ensured enough sunlight on the fruit and created a healthy microclimate around the bunches.

Vintage

The 2022 season started with a great winter and uninterrupted cold unit accumulation. Budding started very late due to a cold front and heavy snow fall at the end of August and moderate temperatures during September. This facilitated even growing and ripening in the latter part of the season. Berries and bunches were a little bit bigger due to high water availability and also meant 5% increase on crop yield on 2021, bringing us back in line with our average yield over the last 10 years. In the winery itself it was a memorable vintage. The grapes ripened on time and staggered well so the cellar was never under pressure and picking could be at exactly the right time. These vintages usually shape up to be some of the best, so watch this space!

Winemaking

The grapes were picked early in the morning and in some cases even during the night. We handle Sauvignon Blanc very reductively from the start with dry ice in the vineyard through to the fermentation vessel. 50% of the grapes were crushed as soon as it arrived (before 10am) with a CO2 blanket and given at least 12 hours skin contact. The other 50% were “whole bunch” pressed into the settling tanks. The portion that received skin contact was fermented in stainless steel tanks while the “whole bunch” portion was fermented in new 400L French oak barrels. The wine spent 6 months on the lees and in barrel before it was blended and bottled.