Product Description
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Varieties
Chenin Blanc
The Vineyard
Planted in 1971, Riverside Chenin Blanc is the oldest vineyard on the farm. Soils on the banks of the upper Blaauwklippen River, in which the vines are planted, vary from sandy alluvial plains with river stone to red clay loam as one moves away from the river. This patchy old vineyard, at an elevation of 250m, delivers very low yields of incredible quality fruit year in and year out. Like the old vines from which it is made, this wine has great complexity and character with quiet intensity.
The Harvest
All grapes used in producing this wine are sourced from the Riverside vineyard on Keermont. Small parcels of grapes are selected according to optimal ripeness and harvested by hand.
Despite prevailing drought conditions, this is a very good growing season on Keermont. They had a fairly cold winter although it was drier than usual. Spring arrived quite early and the warm weather ensured an even budburst. They had some good rain showers during the season which allowed for the vines to grow sufficiently. These factors led to the formation of a healthy crop which ripened evenly. They had very notable diurnal temperature variation during this season (warm days and cool nights) which is responsible for good tannin, colour, and flavour development.
Harvest started at the beginning of February and ran very smoothly. They processed 87 tons (13 varieties) in the Keermont winery over the period of seven weeks.
Riverside Chenin blanc yield : 3.2tons/Ha
The Cellar
Fermentation is carried out by yeast which occurs naturally on the grape skins and in the winery. This wine was fermented and then spent a further 12 months maturing on the lees in seasoned French oak barrels (225L and 500L). Bottling was done by hand without filtration. Only 2855 bottles and 52 magnums of this wine were produced.
ANALYSIS
Alc: 13.5 %
pH: 3.39
TA: 5.1 g/L
RS: 2.0 g/L
TSO2: 68 mg/L
VA: 0.62 g/L
Aging Potential
12 years
Awards
RIVERSIDE CHEN 18: 95pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 18: 91 pts NEAL MARTIN (VINOUS)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 18: 96 pts DECANTER
RIVERSIDE CHEN 18: 96 pts WINE MAGAZINE
RIVERSIDE CHEN 18: 4 ½ stars PLATTER GUIDE
RIVERSIDE CHEN 17: 95pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 17: 4 ½ stars PLATTER GUIDE
RIVERSIDE CHEN 17: 91 pts NEAL MARTIN
RIVERSIDE CHEN 15: 93 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 15: 93 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 14: 5 stars PLATTER GUIDE 2016
RIVERSIDE CHEN 14: 92 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 14: 17 pts JANCIS ROBINSON
RIVERSIDE CHEN 13: 89 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
RIVERSIDE CHEN 13: 4½ stars PLATTER GUIDE
