Description
Single vineyard planted in 1957 in the rugged Citrusdal Mountains. These bush vines sit at 1500ft elevation on decomposed sandstone and clay soils. The Chenin grapes were hand-harvested at optimum ripeness, hand sorted, crushed, and destemmed. The juice was immediately pressed and cold settled for 2 days at 10°C. 1500L were spontaneously fermented in a concrete egg and the rest (3500L) was spontaneously fermented in 4th & 5th fill 400-liter French oak barrels.
The Protea Heights vineyards were established in 2009 and 2010, with high density plantings ranging from 5,600 – 10,100 vines per hectare. They are positioned primarily on cooler south to southeast facing slopes, at an altitude ranging from 200 to 250 meters above sea level. Cooling afternoon breezes from False Bay provide natural air conditioning for the vineyards during the warm summer months, cooling the temperatures by an average 10+ degrees. The vineyards were converted to organic farming practices in 2014.
