COLOMBARD

2019 Vintage: LIMITED

Total Production: 196 bottles, 8 Magnums

Wine of Origin: Slanghoek Valley – 11% vol.

Sommelier-Winemaker Collaboration with Attie Louw, Opstal Estate.

Tasting Notes: Zingy lime zest and elderflower cordial, with a beautiful fresh, crunchy acidity. Frangipani blossom on the nose, and a wet pebble minerality on the finish.

Wine Making Notes: The Slanghoek Valley is actually a little grape growing micro-climate, and is known as the land of the slow-ripening grape. Harvest occurred at the same time as the previous vintage in early March, but the grapes came in with a slightly lower sugar, meaning a slightly lower potential alcohol. Same manner of treatment, with free-run juice going straight into old French oak, letting it naturally ferment and only let it go through ‘Malo’ halfway through thus retaining that crunch, crisp acidity and all-round freshness. On bottling, nine months later, the wine was filtered, and therefore the resulting style was very much the opposite of the 2018. There was a special request by a local restauranteur for 8 magnums hand-bottled “En Rama”-style, which was an absolute pleasure to facilitate. 

Service Guidelines: Serve between 8-10 deg.C, or colder still if it’s a crazy-hot day. The wine is meant to refresh your palate at the start, and then open up its offerings of complexity as it warms in your glass.

Food Pairing Suggestions: Ceviche, Pan-seared oily fish such as Salmon or Mackerel, Freshly-shucked oysters with shallot mignonette, Scandinavian Gravadlax, Pulled-pork Tacos (as it can hold up to spice), and also a varied range of Asian cuisine, as it enjoys playing with aromatic spice components such as ginger and lemongrass.