The Colene Sauvignon Blanc 2022
There's a soft, pleasant flintiness up front on the nose of this wine, with more pronounced notes of fresh grass & green melon rind. It's just more than lightweight on the palate, offering ample acidity to complement flavors of green plum, lime and more green melon that linger on the close.
VINEYARDS:
The 2022 Colene is a blend of Iona vineyards and our Langrug vineyards. The soil type and aspect of each Sauvignon Blanc vineyard are matched with different clones (316,317,242,159) to fully realise the complexity of flavours and varietal typicity. The soils predominantly consist of sandstone and quartz with underlying clay. Cool maritime conditions prevail in the Elgin Valley ensuring a long ripening period to develop intense, concentrated flavours, a purity of fruit with mineral undertones, crisp acidity and freshness of classic Sauvignon Blanc. Age of vines is between 9-18 years.
WINEMAKING:
Grapes were hand-picked into crates early in the morning to ensure that the grapes stayed cool. After gentle pressing, the must was settled, maintaining a temperature of 6 - 8°C.
Fermentation occurred at 14-17°C, using different commercial yeast strains particularly suited to Sauvignon Blanc. The wine was kept on the gross lees for 5 months and stirred regularly to enhance the richness of the mid-palate.
Alc 13.%, RS 1.8g/l, TA 6.4g/l, pH 3.2
Wine Enthusiast rating: 91 points
The Colene Sauvignon Blanc Testimonials
A little bit about South African Sauvignon Blancs
The flavors of Sauvignon Blanc in South Africa can have a lot of similarities to New Zealand; they can be zesty, grapefruit-y and grassy. Sauvignon Blancs in the Cape do best with a cool climate to allow slow ripening, but also rich fertile soils, resulting in high vigor, huge foliage and low yields, which tend to produce expressive and body-rich wines. Many Sauvignon Blancs from South Africa combine herbaceous notes and rich fruit. Their harmony and approachable nature have increased demand for the country’s bottlings.
This Particular Sauvignon Blanc, The Colene, is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes sourced from the region of Elim, the southern most point of South Africa. The attraction of Elim for winegrowers is the cool climate, which makes it possible to produce styles of wine that have a point of difference to the warmer regions that predominate in the Western Cape.