Land of Hope Cabernet-Sauvignon 2009

Wine of Origin:	Helderberg - Stellenbosch
Alcohol:	14.04% by volume
PH:	3.69
Residual sugar:	2.3 g/l
Total acidity:	5.6 g/l

Top Cabernet Sauvignon is synonymous with South Africa’s traditionally most recognised wine region, Stellenbosch. This wine is from a single vineyard, rooted in magnificent decomposed granite & clay soils on the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch. These ocean-facing vines produce some of the most complex fruit and individual flavours of the land, combining the geological and climatic uniqueness of this site.

2009 in Stellenbosch was a really wonderful vintage -as the entire viticultural planet experienced, it seems. From an excellent flowering to the cooler than usual summer evenings and the resultant extended ripening season. There was plenty of rainfall during the season too, which allowed the grapes to grow and ripen in almost ideal conditions. We are in any case never short of sun, but when we have cool evenings and retain acidity in the grapes better balance is ensured than in the very hot vintages. Bunch and grape sizes were relatively small and free of rot and the grapes tasted wonderfully. Yields came in at +/- 35 HL / ha. All grapes are hand picked into small lug-bins then hand sorted, before being destemmed and placed in open-top 600L oak vats, each becoming its own micro-fermentation with natural wild yeast and minimal intervention. Cap punching is carried out once or twice a day, mindful not to over-extract but to retain balance and to ensure that the wine develops its own natural (as opposed to formulaically-driven) character. This is followed by 16 months maturation, on the lees for most of that, in small French oak barrels, free run juice and pressings matured apart. The barrels are a combination of 4th fill through to new, the latter accounting for about 25% of the ultimate blend. Eventually all the barrels that make the cut are brought together and settled for a couple of months in tank before bottling, without filtration. This is not a technically-minded wine, but a natural interpretation of our site, on our spot of land, where we live and raise our children -and our fruit!

Land of Hope Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Wine of Origin:	Stellenbosch
Alcohol:	14.5% by volume
PH:	3.79
Residual sugar:	1.25 g/l
Total acidity:	5.1 g/l

Top Cabernet Sauvignon is synonymous with South Africa’s traditionally most prestigious wine region, Stellenbosch. This wine is from a single vineyard, rooted in magnificent decomposed granite & clay soils on the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch. These ocean-facing vines produce some of the most complex fruit and individual flavours of the land, combining the geological and climatic uniqueness of this site. 2008 was a good Cabernet vintage here, not least thanks to the Indian summer which burst over the vineyards following a cool and wet spell towards the end of the ripening season. All grapes are hand picked into small lug-bins then hand sorted, before being destemmed and placed in open-top 600L oak vats, each becoming its own micro-fermentation with natural wild yeast and minimal intervention. Cap punching is carried out once or twice a day, mindful not to over-extract but to retain balance and to ensure that the wine develops its own natural (as opposed to formulaically-driven) character. This is followed by 16 months maturation, on the lees for most of that, in small French oak barrels, free run juice and pressings matured apart. The barrels are a combination of 4th fill through to new, the latter accounting for about 25% of the ultimate blend. Eventually all the barrels that make the cut are brought together and settled for a couple of months in tank before bottling, without filtration.