600 in stock
37,20 €
600 in stock
2023 is the last vintage of Tim in South Africa. After making 3 outstanding vintages, Tim has moved permanently to UK to make Chardonnay.
Origin: Swartland
The grapes, grown by my neighbour, come from a single vineyard aged 34 years old. The vineyard is on a steep slope at the foot of the Kasteelberg mountain and the soil is therefore predominately schist. Aspect is South-East (a cooler slope) which allows for optimal phenolic ripeness without unpleasantly high alcohol levels.
Hand-harvested at dawn into small crates and driven to the cellar by tractor. The grapes spent a few hours in the cold room after which they were whole-bunch pressed to a settling tank. The next morning the juice was transferred to a 2606L foudre where natural fermentation occurred. The wine spent 11 months on the lees.
“Pear, peach, talcum powder and some yeasty complexity on the nose while the palate has good fruit density, well-integrated acidity and a gently savoury finish. Understated and harmonious, some light pithiness lending texture.” – Christian Eedes
Composition: 100% Chenin Blanc
ANALYSIS: Alc: 12.81% | RS: 2.0 g/l | TA: 5.40 g/l | pH: 3.39 | Total Sulphites: 97 PPM
The name Cosmica is from the Spanish for The Cosmos and refers to the panoramic view of the stars from the vineyard. A sight that Tim has fallen in love with after constant late-night and early-morning grape sampling with a headtorch. As the farm is so far from the nearest town it allows the most amazing star gazing. You can see the Milky Way and even some shooting stars if you care to look long enough. The vineyard and the winemaking is exactly the same as the winning 2022,again this is aged in large Stockinger foudres. The result is a hugely expressive, but fresh and long Chenin. Gently intense, with pretty hedgerow flowers, fresh-cut green herbs, waxy lemons and a nutty middle. Poised perfectly and finishing long and bright. (Just 12.8% Alcohol) L&S (Jan 2025)
Aged in Stockinger foudres – the cooper of choice for winemakers who like understated oak flavours – Tim Hillock’s Swartland Chenin Blanc is engagingly youthful and energetic, with layers of rice pudding, wet stones and waxed lemons and a leesy mid palate. Drinking range: 2025 – 2028 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Jan 2025)
Tim trained at the University of Stellenbosch in viticulture and oenology with another of our new boys – Albert Van Niekerk. Having set up base at his uncle’s beautiful farm in the heart of the Swartland, Tim shares cellar-space with some brilliant winemakers.
This is a fabulous microcosm of South Africa’s incredibly collaborative wine scene today. Where independent, small-scale vignerons – young and old – work together, feeding off each other’s experience and enthusiasm. Callie Louw from Porseleinberg and the towering Donovan Rall are neighbours and mentors here.
Tim is young, ambitious and talented and loves working alongside these highly respected winemakers. Tim’s charm, enthusiasm and talent mean that he is already getting his hands on top-quality fruit from small parcels and contracting vineyards that make you swoon.
The aim here is to deliver expressive, fresh and nuanced wines that illustrate in the glass, the unique story of each site.
This means that in the cellar the wines are gently coaxed into life. Fermentations are spontaneous with no interventions, and Tim uses various vessels for the élevage including concrete, beautiful Stockinger casks and amphora too – depending on the variety and the vintage. Tim’s vineyards are mostly Swartland, but he found the fresh climes of Ceres too hard to resist and also makes some Pinot Noir from fruit on this cool, high plain.
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