Cocoa Hill Sauvignon Blanc

Vintage:

2012

Origin:

Stellenbosch

Varieties:

Sauvignon Blanc

Trophy- Michelangelo International Wine Awards

In a time of seafaring and spice, pirates played in Table Bay…
Among them was Long Ben - as fierce as he was tall,
he looted and pillaged and scavenged from all.
Ben fast became known for being up to no good,
and so fled from the seas and gave up his loot.
He planted some vines, as was the way,
and peered out towards the ocean almost every day.
Long Ben would have gazed longingly at the vista of Table Bay
from where our vines grow today, on Cocoa Hill.

This wine shows an abundance of ripe fruit flavours ranging from mulberry and plum backed up by the subtle roasted oak flavours with hints of vanilla and spice. The palate boasts excellent concentration with super fine tannins and great length.

Tasting Notes:

With our Sauvignon blanc we aim at making a wine that is fresh, youthful and abundant with fruit flavours as opposed to an overly green Sauvignon blanc. Balance between the fruit, alcohol and acidity is of utmost importance. Notes of granny smith apple, litchi and guava dominate the nose with hints of melon and lime. The palate is full and fresh with a great mineral quality and lasting aftertaste. This is an excellent food wine.

Vintage Conditions:

The 2012 vintage will be remembered as bringing one of the longest ripening periods recorded at Dornier. The heat spell in January was followed by an unusually cool February. This allowed the fruit to hang on the vines for longer, resulting in smaller, concentrated berries with intense flavours and natural acidity. We were able to pick for phenolic ripeness, without the increase in sugar sometimes experienced towards the end of the season. This resulted in beautifully flavourful fruit and excellent balance in the final product.

Fermentation and Ageing:

The 2012 vintage conditions allowed us to hang the Sauvignon blanc a few additional days thereby gaining in complexity. Each batch received a light press to extract only the highest quality juice after-which they were individually fermented at cold temperatures (14°C) in stainless steel tanks for approximately 10 days. Flavour and style specific yeast were selected as to obtain the desired fruit and aroma characteristics. Post fermentation, they remained on the full lees with battonage (lees stirring) performed weekly for a further two months thereby gaining the beneficial characteristics of fullness and texture into the wine.

Food Pairing:

Pairs well with delicate fish and seafood dressed with a light cream sauce as well as subtle chicken dishes cooked with fresh and fragrant ingredients. Also accompanies refined pork dishes such as hams and pork loin. Vegetarian options include vegetable

Alcohol:

12 %

Residual Sugar:

4.2 g/L

Total Acid:

5.8 g/L

Final pH:

3.28

VA:

0.19 g/L

Printable Tasting Notes: