Description

VINIFICATION | The grapes are picked in small 20kg picking crates and then placed in a
cooling room to reduce the temperature. We consider this an essential step in the Swartland
where temperatures are often 35 degrees and more during harvest time; and pressing warm
grapes comes with a series of potential challenges.
The cooling process is followed up by whole bunch pressing. The process takes about three
hours and during this time there is a margin of settling of the juice in the collecting tank.
The juice is then transferred to two older foudres where it is left undisturbed until natural
fermentation starts.
The fermentation process can sometimes take up to 10 or more days to initiate and can last
anything from 1 to 6 months, sometimes only finishing during the next spring, by which time
the malolactic fermentation would often have come to completion as well.
AGEING | The wine is left in cask on the fermentation lees for 12 months and we
bottle from the lees. We add about 50ppm of sulphur 2 weeks prior to bottling and bottle
directly from the cask.
NOTES | The Skurfberg Mountain is part of the Citrusdal mountain area and the word
Skurfberg (Rugged Mountain) mainly refers to the edgy and rough appearance of the
mountain. The soil is mainly weathered Table Mountain sandstone formations and tends to
be very sandy.
It is a truly great site for Chenin and it is most unusual that such a warm and dry area still
produces wines with this enormous texture and freshness.
This 2024 Skurfberg vintage displays some riper tropical fruit alongside the usual Granny
Smith apple fresh greener flavours. This vintage however, has some viscosity to it, balanced
by a very bright and long acidity finish. This is a more linear version of the vineyard
expression, and the wine should fill out with time in the bottle.