2023 Tokara Reserve Collection Sauvignon Blanc (Elgin)

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Viticulture

The vines cropped between 7 to 9 tons a hectare. Once they had reached optimum flavour ripeness, the grapes were hand-picked at dawn, ideally at sugars between 21.5 and 22.5 degrees brix and acidities of between 6.5 g/l to 9.5 g/l. Whole bunches were cooled in a cold room before being transported in a closed truck to our winery on The Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch.

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Vinification

Immediately upon arrival the grapes were destemmed, crushed and cold pressed in our inert press (zero air). The press juice and free run juice were kept separate and settled overnight, followed by racking off the next day. Only the free run juice from the best blocks is used for the Reserve Collection Sauvignon blanc. The juice was fermented at 15 degrees Celsius in stainless steel tanks with selected wine yeast. 4% of this blend is made up of wine fermented in 400L 3rd fill barrels and matured there for 5 months. After fermentation the wine was sulphured and left on the lees for five months with regular lees stirring before stabilization, filtration and bottling. 45 833 bottles were produced.