Deconstructed Chardonnay: Each of the 3 Deconstructed Chardonnays has been sourced from a certain vineyard and a certain clone. Kershaw's aim is to prove that Elgin can fully "adopt" these noble grapes but also to highlight the specific "terroirs" that reflect the intra-regional characteristics in Elgin. More will be forthcoming as his research continues..
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Sourced west of Elgin, clone CY95 gives wines of top quality, aromatic, rich but restrained at the same time, intensely flavored with fruity elements on the finish. Bokkeveld Shale CY95 is quite aromatic, with persistence and elegance on the palate.
The grapes are picked by hand early in the morning, the whole bunches are placed in small crates, which are taken directly to the press at a maximum of 0.6 bar or until a concentration of 615 liters per ton is reached. The juice flows directly into the barrel without the use of pumps, before the settling of the sediment. Spontaneous fermentation begins. The wine rests in the barrels for 4 months before sulphurization and then matures in the barrel for another 7 months before bottling.
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Barrels: A small number of barrels were selected, all from Burgundy, only French oak. Importantly, each clone and soil type was micro-distributed as a separate batch. Each batch used an algorithm set up to keep data on which barrels performed best and how many new and how many used barrels were used. Overall, the average in 2018 was 49% new oak barrels and 100% of 228 liters.