Rhine Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2005

Exceptional wine made only once at the estate, in 2005. It is a selection of noble 100% Riesling grains from noble rot or botrytis cinerea. The conditions for making this type of wine in the Cape region are rather rare. T he bunches were taken to the presses where the sweet juice was carefully extracted. After 24 hours of settling, the juice is drawn off for fermentation in a thermoregulated stainless steel tank which will last 1 month. The bouquet is characteristic of great sweet Rieslings and, among others, German Rieslings from the Rheingau, which are an archetype in this area. This superb sweet wine reveals notes of honey , nuts , candied citrus fruits, quince and sweet spices . On the palate, it is the fruitiness and balance that immediately seduce. The acidity perfectly balances the 100g of residual sugar in the wine, ending with a long and saline finish.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.