Boekenhoutskloof, Semillon 2021

Our Semillon is made from Certified Heritage Vineyards, which count amongst the oldest in South Africa. These three Franschhoek Semillon vineyards have acclimated to their terroirs, producing unique wines with intense depth and complexity. These old vineyards’ deep root systems and high skin-to-pulp ratio produce intensely complex, well-structured wines with unbelievable ageing potential.

Two of the vineyards used for our Semillon, planted in 1902 and 1942, are unirrigated bush vines, growing on little to no slope in the ancient Franschhoek Riverbed. These vineyards are well established on alluvial soils with a high loam content. The third vineyard planted in 1936, is located further up the valley on a 45-degree south-facing slope, on decomposed granite and quartz soils. Some of the vines within these vineyards have naturally mutated from Semillon to Semillon Gris, which has a slight red hue and higher skin-to-pulp ratio. The Semillon Gris vines naturally require more ripening time and are only harvested during a second picking. We opted to use a small portion of historic Muscat d’Alexandrie, planted in 1902, to enhance the wine’s aromatic character.

The old vines benefited well from the generally wet weather conditions and low evening temperatures throughout the 2021 growing season. With good vegetative growth and lush canopies, the Semillon ripened slowly and evenly, which contributes to the approachable nature of the vintage along with an enticing minerality.

• Alcohol: 13.57 %vol
• RS: 1.50 g/l
• TA: 5.20 g/l
• pH: 3.26
• W.O. Franschhoek