South Africa, Olifants River
Semillon
Description
Named for the striking tree aloes near the old vineyard it comes from.The vineyard was planted in the 1930s, with a mix of standard Semillon anda red-berried form of the grape once common in the Cape and probably unique tothis country, but now almost vanished. Both versions used to be called “Greengrape”.This is one of the most pristine old vineyards we know. No herbicides orartificial fertilisers have been used on it, and it has been perfectly pruned overthe years. The downside is that it is a small and low-yielding vineyard.The white and the red Semillon (in an approximately 70:30 proportion)ripen at the same time and are picked and pressed together.The precious juice is taken from the basket press in buckets to an old cask fornatural fermentation, and spends 18 months on its lees before beingbottled from the cask.
Alcohol
13.5%
Analytical data
dry
Vinification
The white and the red Semillon (in an approximately 70:30 proportion) ripen at the same time and are picked and pressed together. The precious juice is taken from the basket press in buckets to an old cask for natural fermentation, and spends 18 months on its lees before being bottled from the cask.
Vineyard: Trekpoort Kloof in the Olifants River Region
The vineyard was planted in the 1930s, with a mix of standard Semillon and a red-berried form of the grape once common in the Cape and probably unique to this country, but now almost vanished. Both versions used to be called “Greengrape”.
Soil Type
Decomposed Table Mountain sandstone
Viticulture
The vineyard was planted in the 1930s, with a mix of standard Semillon and a red-berried form of the grape once common in the Cape and probably unique to this country, but now almost vanished. Both versions used to be called “Greengrape”. This is one of the most pristine old vineyards we know. No herbicides or artificial fertilisers have been used on it, and it has been perfectly pruned over the years. The downside is that it is a small and low-yielding vineyard.
