Chenin Blanc is a variety that Mick has always wanted to work with but was waiting for the right vineyard to land in his lap. Toward the end of 2015, Mick came across the perfect site in the Polkadraai Hills, called the Karibib Vineyard. Jozua Joubert planted the vineyard in 1981 on an east-facing block and has been working with the Cravens to bring it back to a more ‘natural’ state. Initially trained on a single wire, it has been ‘let go’ over time and now grows more like a bush vine. Mick refers to it as a “faux bush vine” vineyard. The vineyard sits in a unique pocket that is characterized by hilly topography and subsequently varying elevations, providing sites on elevations from 200 to 1,300 feet above sea level. Aside from the differences in elevation, the layered soils vary from granite-based on the higher elevations to the lighter, more sandy soils in lower lying areas. The cooler, wetter nature of the 2023 vintage was really suited to early ripening cultivars like Chenin Blanc, helping to draw out the ripening period and achieving fantastic flavor development while maintaining elevated acids.

The grapes were hand harvested and then whole-bunch pressed to concrete “squares.” The juice was left to ferment naturally with full solids. It completed malolactic fermentation and it was then left on the lees for approximately four months before a single racking. In total it spent nine months in concrete before bottling. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered and sees just a dash of sulfur before bottling.