Now this is one of those juicy stories where you need to use the exact right words to avoid disclosing too much info and stepping on toes.
So here goes. As a start you have to realize that I don’t have a huge budget for consultants when it comes to any aspect of my business. So I am forced to be creative in all areas, including the ways I make my wine and perfecting every step of the process. Vineyard-site selection is where all wine begins, and to me personally, one of my most crucial decisions. At the moment I make many unusual varietals, like Fernao Pirez, where it’s relatively easy to get exposure, as I am one of the only winemakers making it. For the last 2 years though, I have been focusing on core varietals, where it’s much more challenging to be a step ahead. The Helderberg’s been called by some as one of the best places in SA to grow Bordeaux varietals (stuff like Cab, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec etc.) This led to a lot of activity on the mountain and some wineries going all out, really ALL OUT, to identify the right spots for the production of these varietals. Some of them spend obscene amounts of cash on local and international consultants in areas like viticulture and soil science – basically terroir fundis. Being a fan of most of these philosophies/wines produced, I started tracking them. Yes them, there are quite a few. One group I call “The White Gloves”.
So where they buy Cab, I buy right next to them. It’s that simple. My very creative strategy. So, “Confessions of a White Glove Chaser”, is pure Cabernet Sauvignon made up from 3 individual parcels of grapes. On my side: A confession that I am a white glove chaser.
You can buy “Confessions of a White Glove Chaser 2013” by replying to this mail. It sells for R155 a bottle and is beyond awesome. My German buyer and another winemaker friend deem it my best wine to date. A few aspects of how this wine was made changes the style compared to most Cabernet’s out there. 0% new oak was used – all aged in small French oak 9 year old barrels for 15 months. The wine was held on the grape skins after alcoholic fermentation for 2.5 months. From grape to wine there was nothing except a bit of sulphur added. Have a look at the analysis, lower than that is hard to find when it comes to Sulphur additions.
Oh, yes and the label was again designed by me. I traced the shape of my 8-year-old son’s hand and using linography, created the image for the label. The wine, like all my wines, hand made, hand bottled and hand labeled – by the colourful people of South Africa.
ALCOHOLIC STRENGTH: 14.5
FREE SO2: 8
PH: 3.79
REDUCING SUGAR: 1.49
TOTAL SO2: 47
ACIDITY: 5.47
VOLATILE ACIDITY: 0.76
