Analysis:

Alcohol : 13.5 vols%

RS : 3.3 g./ litre

TA : 6.9 g./ l

pH : 3.32

Old Vines Chenin Blanc 1998:

A brilliant pale straw with wafting aromas of tropical melon fruit and fresh apples. The flavours are mouthfilling, with lovely ripe, rounded fruit overlaying a minerally core. Fresh acidity maintains the balance. The finish is long and resonant, already showing signs of complexity. This wine has the structure to last for another three to five years.

The top quality of the Old Vines Chenin Blanc 1998 can be attributed to the varied and intense fruit flavours produced by a selection of low yielding old vineyards in Stellenbosch. Aside from their variety, these vineyards also have great deal in common - all are either fully mature or of venerable age, and are found high on hillside slopes, carefully and meticulously tended.

The 1998 vintage in South Africa was notable for heatwaves during the harvesting season. At Old Vines Wine Cellars, careful harvesting meant that grapes were picked on cooler days between these heatwaves. In order to protect the grapes from any damage, one particularly precious vineyard was harvested with "snow shooting". In this process, snow flakes of frozen carbon dioxide were sprayed over the freshly harvested grapes to cool and protect them from the heat during their journey to the cellar, an hour's drive away. Thanks to this technique, our grapes arrived in the cellar fresh and cool, in pristine condition, despite the summer heat.

Slow pressing was followed by fermentation at low temperatures in stainless steel with an extended period on the lees to add richness and weight. Harvesting at varying degrees of ripeness and keeping the wine from each vineyard separately allowed for selection of only the best for final blending. The wine is 100% Chenin Blanc with a small proportion showing botrytis or noble rot character for added complexity. This is not yet easily detectable, but will intensify after some time in bottle.