AA Badenhorst - Family Red 2012

Vineyards and vines: small parcels of selected fruit is sourced from various vineyards on our farm Kalmoesfontein and from neighbours with good tasting grapes. The 2012 vintage was beyond expectations in terms of quality and quantity, the yields were higher than usual, averaging around 5 tons/ha and 11200L was bottled from this harvest. Grapes: Shiraz , Cinsault , Tinta Barocca, Grenache and Mourvedre. Vinification: the grapes are sorted meticulously in the vineyard and transported in small picking boxes to a refrigerated container where they are left overnight to cool down. The following day the grapes are transferred to fermentation vessels made of concrete or wood. No grapes are crushed or de-stemmed and minimal sulfur is added at this stage. The grapes are then “foot stomped” to extract juice to assist the onset of natural fermentation. Once fermentation has started the tanks are pigeaged twice daily. The grapes fermented in closed concrete tanks are left on their skind for 6 months before pressing. Maturation: The wine was pressed into used 4000L casks for a maturation period of 16 months. During this time the wine was topped regularly but not racked until the final blends are made up before bottling.