Southend’s vineyards lie in the shadow of the Babylonstoring Mountains in the Upper Hemelen-Aarde Valley and is owned and farmed by our neighbours, the Pringle family. It is a notably cooler slope, a stone’s throw across the river from us, with less sun exposure and consequently slower ripening. It produces wines with sparkling clarity, high-toned fruit flavours, compact structure, and vibrant acidity. We preserve these features by fermenting in la rger format casks that often ferment slowly into the winter and finish in the spring. This parcel takes a steely and light-footed point of difference from the other Chardonnay vineyards of our appellation.

T A S T I N G  N O T E S

A wine with energy and intensity. The high-toned, rapier-like lime fruit is buoyed with sharp ginger, white pepper and flint. Crushed stones and saltiness sustain the refreshing appeal. Good weight of flavour in the mid palate boosted with bright acidity and gri ppy texture.

A N A L Y S I S

Alcohol by volume 13.57%

Total Acidity 6.11g/l

pH 3.48

Residual sugar 2.14g/l

L O C A T I O N  &  C L I M A T E

These vineyards lie on the south-facing slope at altitudes of 300m down to 210m, in the porphyritic Granite soils of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. This appellation ranges from 4 to 8 km in proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is cool and temperate, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly oceangoing winds through the appellation during the summer. These southerly winds in turn create regular sea mists and overcast conditions, moderating the temperatures in the valley. The annual rainfall is 850mm, with 50% falling in the winter months (May – August).

A P P E L L A T I O N: Wine of Origin UPPER HEMEL-EN-AARDE VALLEY

S O I L: Well-drained decomposed granite with heavier, clay -rich subsoil.

A S P E C T: South West facing. Slope of 16%.

T R E L I S S I N G: 7-wire Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) with movable wires

A G E  O F  V I N E S: 18 years

P R U N I N G: Cordon

V I N E S  P E R  Ha: 3 2 0 0

A V E R A G E  Y I E L D: 7 tons/Ha (49 hl/Ha)

202 2 V I N T A G E

Growing Season & Harvesting The growing season was preceded by a glorious Winter for vine dormancy. Abundant rain from May through to August and 45 chilling portions to a late budbreak in mid -September, ensured an even budbreak and good fertility in the vines. An exceptionally cool Spring produced late flowering from mid to late November, with a storm system causing some wind damage during flowering on 25t h November. As December passed into January, the rain disappeared and the sun came out, producing a dry and warmer ripening period for the grapes. The drawn out growing season still culminated in an average ripening period of 107 days from flowering to harvest for both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Abundant yields were observed in all varieties and excellent health of the bunches from the drier conditions. The Chardonnay was harvested exceedingly late from 8 t h to 18t h March.

Winemaking

The grapes are handpicked and packed in to small, shallow crates to limit crushing of the bunches. The day’s harvest is cooled down overnight to 8ºC in the winery’s refrigerated cold room. The grape bunches are hand -sorted on a conveyor table and fall directly to the press for whole bunch pressing . The best quality juice (approximately 40% of the press yield) is drained directly to barrel, with the balance settled by temperature only (no enzyme used) and racked the next day to barrel for spontaneous fermentation. No sulphur is used in the winemaking until preparations for bottling, allowing diverse micro-organisms from the grape itself to flourish unrestrained in the fermentation. Maturation & Bottling Matured for 11 months in mostly puncheon (500L) and some barrique (228L) barrels produced in Burgundy, with 31% of the total volume matured in stainless steel . Tighter grained oak is preferred for subtle flavour, with longer seasoning and slower, lower temperature toasting. New oak comprises 11% of the final blend. The wine was blended and kept for further élevage of 5 months in stainless steel. No fining, coarse filtration and sulphur adjustment before bottling.

B O T T L E S P  R O D U C E D: 32 370 x 750ml

B O T T L I N G  D A T E : 1 June 2023

B E S T  D R I N K I N G: Now – 8 years

Data Sheet:

https://newtonjohnson.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2022-NJSECH.pdf