Kronkelpad Verdelho 2023

Kronkelpad Verdelho 2023

Tasting Notes
100% Verdelho grapes. A crisp white with a beautifully elegant mouthfeel. Perfumed notes of lemon, white blossom and melon on the nose. White fruits such as pear and peach on the palate, with a powdery phenolic texture in the back of the palate. Perfect to enjoy now, but Verdelho does tend to age magnificently.

Winemaker
Arno Smith

Vineyard
High up in the Helshoogte mountains in Stellenbosch

Soil Type
Well-drained Hutton & Tukulu soils

Vineyard Area
Small block — 0.55 hectares in extent, with a mere 1 000 vines

Trellis
Vertical shoot positioning (VSP) with two movable wires

Irrigation
Used sparingly, to supplement evaporative losses during grape ripening

Harvested
At optimum ripeness during early February — two pickings, 2 and 8 February

Degree Balling
Between 21.5 ˚B and 23 ˚B

Fermentation
Early-morning picking to ensure the grapes were cool. Cold soaking on skins for 6 hours for maximum flavour extraction. Natural fermentation (no commercially produced yeasts were added) took place in old French white wine barrels. After alcoholic fermentation the barrels were stirred up frequently while the secondary, malolactic fermentation took place. Kept in barrel for a further 9 months.

Analysis
Alc: 13.27% | RS: 2.8 g/l | TA: 6.4 g/l | pH: 3.25