Roussanne ripens very rapidly and 2018 was no exception, with grapes
harvested at 24.7° balling with beautiful body and texture. Grapes were
harvested on 28 February 2018 from a vineyard high up on the cool south-west
facing slopes of Simonsberg, then cooled overnight in picking crates. The grapes were whole bunch pressed early the next morning with only the gentlest
pressing in order to yield delicate juice with refined flavours. The wine was
fermented naturally in 225 and 400 litre French oak barrels. A combination of
3rd fill and older barrels were used. The fermentation was quite warm to allow
the yeast to make abundant glycerol. The wine spent a total of 11 months on the primary lees with occasional battonage to stir up the lees. No MLF was allowed.

Harvested on 22 February 2018 at 21° balling from a cool site overlooking False Bay. The grapes were cooled down overnight to 5°Celsius. Grapes were whole bunch pressed early the next morning with the juice taken directly into 225 and 400 litre French oak barrels for a spontaneous fermentation, utilising the yeast strains naturally occurring on the berries. The wine was left in barrel with minimal interference, apart from stirring the lees and topping up when needed.
No malolactic fermentation was done, in order to preserve the primary fresh
fruit aromas. Lower ripeness also keeps the alcohol low to balance the fuller and fatter Roussanne.
This blend is known to make some of the longest living white wines in France.
Something that was discovered is that often the half bottle left in the fridge for a day or two tastes even better with a bit of aeration. This type of wine is not so much about the primary grape aromas, but a lot of the pleasure comes from the structure, palate weight and texture of the wine with a touch of the elusive
minerality.