Jolandie has two rules for her Chenin Blanc: One, the vineyards must be older than 35-years and two, they must be sustainable and dry-farmed. Check and check. She ventured into two distinct granitic valleys of the Paardeberg for most of the fruit (Joubertskloof and Langkloof) with a healthy dose of the iron-rich shale north of Malmesbury for the third site. The granitic components are linear and mineral-driven with more ‘white’ notes and very fresh tones. The iron-derived influences, on the other hand, impart beautiful yellow-spectrum aromatics, which adds richness and texture to the final blend.
The fruit was hand-harvested in the early morning hours and cold-soaked in small picking bins for 24 hours. The following morning the bunches were whole-bunch pressed to stainless-steel and the juice was allowed to settle naturally overnight. The juice and fine lees were transferred to a combination of old 300L and 500L barrels. Fermentation kicked off naturally without any additions and two weeks of battonage was employed for textural notes. After 10 months aging the wines were racked to tank to settle and the wine was bottled two weeks later without fining or filtration and just a small sulfur addition.