VINEYARDS

Location: Citrusdal Mountain

Grapes: Chenin Blanc / Steen (South African synonym)

Ageing: 12 months in Big Old Oak Casks

Soils: Decomposed Table Mountain Sandstone Formations

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 decomposedTable Mountain sandstone formations and tends to beverysandy.

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.

For this 2023 Skurfberg vintage, we also opted to pick seemingly prematurely, as it is in
the Citrusdal Mountains and shares the same seasonal dynamics.The physiology of the fruit seemed delayed, yet the wine also yielded 13.9% alcohol.The combination of the volume
of the wine and the firm acidity makes for an incredible wine that is essentially built to last. The trademark granny smith apple, pear skin, and lanolin are very present in the aromas.The wine’s viscosity and volume, combined with the cutting acidity, suggest that this vintage has the mechanics to age incredibly well, like Kokerboom.

Please give this wine the time in the bottle; it is good for the time…

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Yield: 23 hl/ha

Alcohol: 14,1 %

Residual Sugar: 1,5 g/L

pH: 3,45

Total Acidity: 6 g/L

Total Sulphur: 82 mg/L

Dsats Sheet:

http://thesadiefamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Skurfberg-2023.pdf