<h3>In the vineyard</h3><p> Farmed dry-land, the Chenin Blanc vines are 43 year old bushvines. The vineyard lies on a big bank of granite which naturally stresses the vines. The Viognier and Chardonnay vines are also grown in soil with varying degrees of decomposed granite but on opposing slopes of the valley with different ripening patterns. There is no specific recipe that we use; each vineyard block is treated according to its strengths and weaknesses. The grapes are hand harvested into small 20kg lugs in the early morning. The vines are farmed organically.</p> <h3>About the harvest</h3> <p>The 2013 harvest was preceded by one of the wettest winters in the last decade. This was a very good thing as it allowed a longer more balanced growing season, enabling the vineyards to grow without stressing as much as the 2011 and 2012 vintages.</p> <h3>In the cellar</h3> <p>The grapes were whole bunch pressed. No settling was carried out and no fining agents, enzymes, tannins, acid or SO2 were added at crushing. The juice fermented in stainless steel tanks at temperatures around 25°C. No cooling was needed during fermentation. The three wines were blended and racked off the gross lees after completing primary fermentation. The wine was aged in a concrete tank for 11 months.</p>
