This is the fourth iteration of ‘The Story of Harry.’ Harry is a real person who is part of the vineyard crew and is just as much a part of the ‘terroir’ of the wine as the vineyard. Without these vineyard workers, high quality wine would not be possible. Moreover without the work that the winemakers have available, many of these communities would remain desolate. Jurgen illustrates the collaborative team effort through the imagery on the label that is his artistic interpretation of the long drives in the Swartland going from town to township to city to farm. The colorful homes and clothing dot the landscape and form the symbiotic community of the Swartland. The fruit all comes off of a single site northeast of the Paardeberg with the Chardonnay at the bottom of the vineyard at lower altitudes and the Chenin further up the slope facing due East. The Chenin was planted in 2002 and the Chardonnay in 1998 and both are bush vine plantings and have been dry-farmed since their inception. Jurgen would never consider making a varietal Chardonnay from the Swartland at the lower-lying altitudes, but the richness blended with the linear Chenin is a truly great harmony of varieties.

The fruit was hand-harvested in the cool, dark morning of early February. The Chenin Blanc component was entirely destemmed and fermented on the skins for one week in open-top plastic fermenters without any additions. Following a week on skins for 40% of the Chenin, the lot was pressed directly to old 25hL and 30hL foudres for aging. The Chardonnay was whole-bunch pressed directly to old oak barrels for a reductive natural fermentation on its gross lees. Aging occurred for 10 months in old oak barrels (Chardonnay) and French foudres (Chenin Blanc).  Both components were racked once to tank to harmonize and settle naturally prior to being bottled without fining and just a coarse filtration and small addition of sulfur.