| WINE | Radford Dale | ||||||||
| VARIETAL | Chardonnay | ||||||||
| VINTAGE | 2008 | ||||||||
| APPELLATION | Stellenbosch, South Africa | ||||||||
| ANALYSIS |
|
||||||||
| PRODUCTION | 1000 (12 x 750ml.) cases |
VINEYARDS & HARVEST
3 parcels. The first two, on Ocean-facing, South-easterly & South westerly slopes of the Helderberg Mountain. The vines, grown in Clovely soils (decomposed granite), are mature and virus free, usually yielding 40 hl / ha and providing wonderful fruit depth. The third, a beautiful vineyard hugging the South-Eastern side of Stellenbosch, in the lee of the Helderberg, whose decomposed granite soils provide rare flinty & mineral flavours. The 2008 vintage benefited from higher winter rainfall and cooler summer median temperatures than 2007. This translated into lower sugars / alcohol and wonderful balance, purity and freshness.
VINIFICATION
The grapes were all hand-picked at dawn into small lug-bins, chilled for 18 hours in our white wine cellar, then hand-fed over a sorting table. Whole bunch pressed, with the free-run juice settled for two days before being gravity-fed into barrel. Alcoholic fermentation entirely carried out in barrel (mainly natural ambient yeast) for 8 – 10 weeks. Cellar maintained very cold at about 10° Celsius (fermentation peaking at about 18 °), then temperature dropped to 7°. Malo inhibited. Battonnage applied weekly during the first two months, then monthly for the following nine. Racked out of barrel after 13 months, assembled with a very small portion of tank-fermented juice. Settled with a light bentonite fining and no filtration until bottling in March 2009, after the following vintage.
BARRELS
90+% of the wine was barrel fermented and matured. Of that, 100% French oak : Allier & Vosges 228 L barrels. 50% 2nd fill ,30% 3rd fill, 10% 4th fill and 10% new. Under 10% of tank fermented juice was blended in at the time of assembling all the barrels into tank.
WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS
With strong influence of Alex Dale’s upbringing in Burgundy, the making of this Chardonnay is also adapted to our particular conditions in the Cape. Restraining acidity, citrus flavors and gentle oaking the introverted side of its character; ripeness, length and great depth the expansive side. Genuinely mineral, with a crisp lime-citrus edge and an elegant yet intense length on the palate. A Chardonnay striving to be individual, focused on backbone not butter.