A Vintage With A Difference!
Since
1994 when the drier seasons in the Cape started we
had rather small quantities, the grapes ripened earlier
and were always fully ripe.
Last
year the winter started very late and since July 2001
the Cape received heavy rainfalls. These cool, wet
conditions continued until the end of the harvest season
2002. This produced vigorous vineyards and very disease
friendly conditions and therefore very heavy infections
of mildew.
January
2002 was the wettest January for 40 years in the
Cape. Saxenburg had to spray every 5 – 7 days,
which gave us double the normal spraying cost. Luckily
this way secured us a normal quantity compared to
certain vineyards in the region which lost almost
their entire crop. The only cultivar with very low
quantity was the Cabernet Sauvignon, which was influenced
by the cold and wind during the flowering period.
Well done by Len Coetzee who managed the vineyards
in a variety of ways during the most difficult vintage
we have had for many years.
We started to harvest during
the 2nd week of February. As normal, the Pinotage was
the first to be ready with a very even ripeness. Thereafter
we started with Sauvingnon Blanc, which we finished
over a period of 20 days to get all the flavours of
the different stages of ripeness. Most was done by
machine during the early morning hours. The Chardonnay
was only ready at the end of February and so was the
Chenin Blanc. On all the white grapes we had only a
bit of botrytis rot but other wine no stress or sunburnt fruit.
The
Shiraz was ready from the last week of February till
the middle of March and the same with the Merlot.
The Cabernet Sauvingnon only started to be ready
from the beginning of March and all was in by the
3rd week of March. The above meant that we had to
select all red grapes over a long period to get the
optimum ripeness. Colour was never a problem and
neither the overall quality. As mentioned before
most of the quantities were in line with the Saxenburg
goal of 4 tons / ha for red and 6-8 tons / ha for the
white grapes. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc
and Chardonnay were way below the above guidelines.
In total Saxenburg harvested
380 tons of grapes which is 10% less than a normal
average vintage. Very exciting was the first production
of a new Cabernet Sauvingnon vineyard, which produced
2,5 tons / ha on its maiden vintage and the quality
is exceptional, an exciting wait for the future adult
quality.
White Wines
Lots
of flavour and very nice fruity finishes because
of the higher natural acids produced by the cool and
long maturation period. The colours are bright, green
and young, wines with excellent maturation potential.
The alcohol is a bit lower (12,5 – 13,0 %) but
as a result all wines are well balanced. Of the Sauvingnon
Blanc we produced 3000 cases and the Chardonnay only
800 cases.
Red Wines
For the top quality we
had to be very strict with our selection. Normally
a vineyard selection was very close to a final option
but this year we selected in the vineyard, after
fermentation, after Malolactic fermentation and I
am sure also after barrel maturation. The most consistent
variety so far is the Shiraz. This year we secured
three very good options for the SSS selection which
all did the malolactic fermentation in new wood (American
and French Oak).
The Pinotage came out very fruity,
full and nice soft silky tannins. The Cabernet Sauvingnon
and Merlot are full with prominent black fruit and
good tannin structures. The Shiraz is feminine, soft,
huge, compact black fruit and very smooth finish. All
the red wines have an alcohol of 13,5 – 14,5 %.
All
in all, a difficult vintage to maintain the Private
Collection standard and a vintage which demanded
a hands on approach. One thing for sure is that the
top quality of year 2002 will be in smaller quantities
and therefore a different price at the end. Also
not to be forgotten are the vastly increased costs
of cellar material that are still in the system because
we did not want to compromise by the use of inferior
wood quality for the barrels and likewise with corks,
bottles and capsules. The Saxenburg label is for
quality and so it will stay.
Cellar secrets
The
1998 SSS Shiraz is totally sold out and has created
a huge vacuum of demand. There will be no 1999 SSS,
the next release will be during July 2003 of the 2000
vintage. Quantity is small, the waiting list long,
so if you want some please reserve now! But remember
Saxenburg also offers a nice choice of other wines.
So visit us and let Yvonne and Adele spoil you with
a tasting trip from the “Cape to Capion”.
|
