UitkykSimonsberg Chenin Blanc 2016 (R54.83 per bottle, 6 bottles)
R329
About
Pale lemon-yellow with faint green tinges. Bouquet: Concentrated fruit flavours of ripe guava and pineapple, together with floral notes. Time in wood together with lees contact has added nuances of butterscotch, nuts. On the palate, the emphasis is on the fruit and there is plenty of that: upfront guava and pineapple with sweet vanilla and honey following through. Enjoy with strong flavoured food like curries, masalas, biryani's, Mediterranean cuisine and Thai dishes. Delicious with roast pork, apple sauce and crackling. Delightful on its own as it has not been over-wooded. Serve chilled at 12-14°C (not too cold!).
- Variety 100% Chenin Blanc
- Winemaker: Estelle Lourens
- Origin: Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
- Analysis
- alc : 14 % vol
- rs: 2.1 g/l
- pH: 3.25
- ta : 6.5 g/l
- va : 0.52 g/l
Vineyards
The grapes used to craft this wine came from a single vineyard situated at 250 meters above sea level and facing due north. The vines, which are 35 years old, are grafted onto nematode-resistant Richter 99 rootstocks and are grown in soils originating from decomposed granite. They are trellised on a 3 wire hedge system and received no supplementary irrigation during the growing season, thus dry land. Because these vines are so old, with age they almost became like bush vines. The yield was only 6 tons per hectare, with the result excellent quality and complexity of the fruit.
In the cellar
Skin contact has been allowed for 6-8 hours and only the free-run juice was used. 54% of the wine fermented naturally while the rest of the juice was inoculated with pure yeast cultures and soon afterwards 55 % of the blend was transferred to wood. After the fermentation finished the wine was left on the lees for a period of 10 months in 33% new oak and 21% second and third fill French oak barrels, while the balance stayed on the lees in a tank. No malolactic fermentation took place. During the maturation period, the lees had been stirred every 2 weeks. Bottling took place in January 2014.
Writer's block
Ours is about 3 feet by 3 feet, and on our left is the account's block. The marketing block is down the hall.
We're joking. Obviously.
Ours is at least 5 by 5, and on Wednesdays we're allowed to write in coffee shops to maintain the illusion that we're "successful" and "writerly".
Coming up with a write up for the simple sake of a write up does, however, become difficult when we're staring complete lack of creativity right in the face. But apparently asking management to cancel all the deals for the day isn't a viable fix.
As they so delicately put it, it'd be like a comedian having the option to suddenly cancel a show if they're not feeling up to it. Not on our watch, they said. You'll do a write up whether you like it or not, they said. And be funny, they said.
So here we are, doing a write up and being funny.