This wine is made from a single, site-specific vineyard, planted in ancient granitic soils. It’s the highest vineyard on Vondeling and offers magnificent views of our beautiful Voor Paardeberg region. The elevation of the vines, as well as the steepness of the slope and a South-facing aspect, ensure that this is our coolest location. The vineyard has poor vigour and the vines are shy yielding. This ensures tiny berries with concentrated flavour and vibrant acidity.

VINIFICATION

The grapes are hand-picked in mid-February with a ripeness of 23.5 Balling. Each bunch is pre-chilled before being whole bunch pressed. The juice remains unsettled and is transferred immediately to French Oak barrels for fermentation. At no stage is yeast or acid added and the “Dirty juice” acts as a nutrient source for the indigenous yeast. It also imparts considerable structure and gives the wine its golden appearance. During the wine’s winter maturation on the gross lees, it normally undergoes a high degree of Malolactic fermentation. This process softens the wine and ensures the harmonious integration of the oak. After winter, the finest barrels are selected, racked and returned for an additional 6 months in barrel. In January, the barrels are screened a second time and the chosen few are prepared for bottling. Due to the fullness and structure of this wine, we insist on a minimum of 9 months rest in bottle before release for purchase.

FURTHER REMARKS

The Bowwood motto is to produce singular, sight-specific wines that exemplify not only the best examples of their type in South Africa but of those of the world. Special attention is given to how the wine will mature over time and we highly recommend additional cellaring to release the wine’s full potential.