Description
Tasting Notes
A linear, steely and Chablis-esque vintage with lime leaf, green apple and lychee up front. Aromas of Frangipani flowers and oat cakes arrive as the wine opens up, with subtle lemon meringue and buttered toast flavours adding sumptuousness against zippy acidity and a pithy, chalky texture. A long and languorous finish.
VINEYARDS
‘The Agnes’ Chardonnay is produced from five different vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde and Overberg regions. The soils of these vineyards range from heavy clay to shale, sandstone and quartz. The final blend retains the characteristics of these individual sites, combining them to produce a wine which is both unique and greater than the sum of its parts.
VINTAGE
The 2021 vintage was the latest Cape Vintage since 2014, with the drought broken and a cold, wet winter leading to later bud break and ripening. Yields were down on the Chardonnays due to high winds at flowering which led to poor berry set, but fruit quality was excellent and acidities were higher than usual. With time, the wines are predicted to be elegant and charming, with lovely freshness and pure fruit flavours.
VINIFICATION
‘The Agnes’ was produced using the traditional method of transferring the whole grape clusters straight into the press and running the juice off into a settling tank. The juice was then racked off the next day into 228 and 500 litre French oak barrels, 10% of which were new. Fermentation occurred naturally in barrel, where the wine then remained for nine months before bottling.
ABV 13%
RS 2.7g/L
TA 6.1g/L
pH 3.31
