A blend of 51% Chenin Blanc, 11% Sémillon, 10% Colombard, 8% Roussanne, 6% Clairette Blanche, 6% Marsanne, 4% Verdelho, 2% Viognier and 2% Grenache Blanc.

The Aristargos 2023 is again dominated by Chenin Blanc and shows their focus on working with Certified Heritage Vineyards (Chenin Blanc, Sémillon, Colombard and Clairette Blanche). They also keep the backbone of this wine from granitic soils of the Paardeberg. Chenin Blanc from shallow shale soils in the Paardeberg and iron rich clay soils to the west of Malmesbury are also added.

We still see dry land farmed bush vines deliver high quality wines year after year, and this showcases the ultimate reason why Chenin Blanc is their main focus in the Swartland. In total, grapes from 16 different vineyards were used, picked in 23 different lots.

The grapes were for the most part whole bunch pressed and naturally fermented and then matured for 11 months in old neutral French oak barrels. The grapes from the two Sémilllon vineyards were soaked on their skins separately for a week before being pressed off and then, for the first time, matured in a 2700L concrete tank for the year. The Colombard was also left on the skins (for 5 days) before being pressed off and matured in old oak barrels. Two Chenin Blanc components were fermented and matured in concrete vessels – one an egg, the other a square tank. Approximately 25% concrete matured in total for 11 months and the rest in old oak. – Winemaker’s notes

ANALYSIS:  ALC 13% | RS 1.9 g/l | TA 5.7 g/l | pH 3.33