Vergelegen Estate...
THE HISTORY OF Vergelegen dates back to 1700
when Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel granted himself a 400
morgen (345 ha) tract of land. Here he transformed the barren
wilderness into a vast experimental farm, with fruit orchards,
orange groves, cattle, sheep and vines. Six years later there
were over 500,000 vines on the estate. After a dispute with the
emerging free burghers of the Cape he was eventually sent back
to the Netherlands. A period of ownership changes then befell
the estate.
In 1987 the estate was purchased by
Anglo-American farms and a new chapter in its life began.
Recognising its superb potential for world class wine they drew
up a detailed master plan to revamp the farm into its present
day 100 hectares of vines. With a stunning showpiece winery
André van Rensberg, winemaker at Vergelegen, is now crafting
wines which are receiving international acclaim.
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Premium
Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2007 |
|
Bin No |
PARA/270 |
Size |
1 x 75cl |
Price |
£8.75 |
|
Pale green colour. Nose
jumps out of the glass - gooseberries, fig, tinned peas, black
truffle, elderflower, some ripe fruits, cut grass, green pepper. The
wine is full, intensely flavoured and very long on after taste.
Origin: Selected from both Vergelegen’s own vineyards in
Somerset West and selected vineyards in Stellenbosch and Elgin. The
Vergelegen vineyards are located on south or south-west facing
slopes.
Vinification: The
grapes are picked when the desired flavours are showing at optimum.
No skin contact is employed as we believe this technique leads to
coarse wines. The juice is settled for 72 hours at low temperatures
before inoculation with the desired yeast strain for Sauvignon
grapes. To avoid conformity with other SA producers, we ferment at
higher temperatures. This leads to fuller, bigger and more
intensely-flavoured wines. All the corks were analysed for TCA and a
standard of less than 2 ng/l was set as the acceptable level whereas
the industry standard is 5ng/l. To avoid potential cork
contamination entirely, 20% of the vintage was bottled using a
Stelvin closure. Grape
Varieties: 97% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Semillon. |
|
Premium
Selection Mill Race 2003 |
|
Bin No |
PARA/272 |
Size |
1 x 75cl |
Price |
£8.75 |
|
Attractive dark ruby.
The nose shows ripe berry, plum, chocolate and coffee flavours.
There is also a hint of mint, spice and pencil shavings. The tannins
are fine grained with great fruit-wood integration. Ideal with
pasta, pizza, stews and premium red meat cuts.
Origin: Sourced from north and north – westerly vineyards at
Vergelegen, Somerset West. Dominating soil types are decomposed
granite, Hutton and weathered shale.
Vinification: The
grapes were harvested into 500kg bins and then de-stemmed and
crushed. Fermentation took place at temperatures of 30?C for the
Cabernet Sauvignon and 26? - 28? for the Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
The young wine was then macerated on the skins for a further three
weeks. Pressing was very light and the wine was run into small 225
litre French oak barrels for Malolactic fermentation. The wine was
matured for 18 months in wood, followed by an egg white fining and
bottling. Grape
Varieties: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc
and 3% Malbec. |
|
Reserve
Selection Shiraz 2005 |
|
Bin No |
PARA/276 |
Size |
1 x 75cl |
Price |
£11.95 |
|
Dark ruby with violets,
spice, chocolate, black and red berry fruit on the nose. Elegant on
the palate. The tannins are ripe and soft and the wine has a long
clean aftertaste.
Origin: The grapes were selected from Vergelegen’s own 1 ha
Shiraz vineyard. The vineyard is situated on Rooiland, which is
cooler than their Stonepine vineyards. This small block is intensely
manipulated to simulate optimal growing conditions.
Vinification: The
grapes were hand-picked and transported in 500kg bins to the
Vergelegen winery. Care is taken to ensure that no over ripe or
damaged fruit is used in the winemaking process. All the grapes were
crushed and destemmed. The Shiraz must was then inoculated with
Rhone yeast, D254. Fermentation took 5 days and was conducted at a
temperature of 30? C in closed vessels. This was followed by a
further 14 days maceration on the skins.
Pressing was very gentle and the young wine was matured for 14
months in 30% new French oak and the balance in second and third
fill French oak. Grape
Varieties: 100% Shiraz. |
|
Reserve
Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 |
|
Bin No |
PARA/277 |
Size |
1 x 75cl |
Price |
£12.95 |
|
The wine is complex,
showing black currants, spice, ripe plums and attractive wood aromas
and flavours. It is full with firm, ripe tannins leading to a
lingering aftertaste.
Origin: The grapes were selected from Vergelegen’s Stonepine,
Rondekop, Rooiland and Kopland Vineyards. These vineyards are all
north to northwest facing, with granite, Hutton and Clovelly soils.
Vines were planted 4000 to the hectare. The preferred Cabernet clone
was 46, while for the Merlot the Italian clones 12 and 192, as well
as the French clones 181 and 3 were used. The average yield was 4
tons per hectare.
Vinification: The
Cabernets were fermented in open tanks at high temperatures
(28-32°C) and punched down every 3-4 hours in order to maximise
colour and tannin extraction. The alcoholic fermentation was
followed by post fermentation maceration of 21 days. The wine was
racked every 3-4 months and was matured in 225 litre barrels for 2
years. Grape
Varieties: 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 4.5%
Merlot. |
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