May 2003
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The first taste!
We were lucky and had some rain (8mm) just after putting down the cover crops, and this helped with germination. The weather turned pretty cool especially at night which helped shut down the vines so they can rest and build up reserves for next year. In the cellar, J-C took some samples off to the lab in Stellenbosch to check how the malolactic fermentations were going. Most were about half way, so he waited 2 weeks before checking them again. At the same time they were analyzed again for v.a's which can rise during malolactic fermentation if the wrong bacteria are doing the job. The species of bacteria we want is Leuconostoc Oenos (also called Oenococcus Oenos), as it is not know to produce serious amounts of off aromas. Strains of Pediococcus and Lactobacillus can also ferment malic acid, but tend to form other compounds in addition to lactic acid. What was found was that some of the barrels have finished malo, whilst others seem to be a bit sluggish/stuck. The v.a. levels were staying constant, so what J-C thought was happening was that, in those batches that were slow, there were simply not enough bacteria present. This is better than a lot of the wrong kind! The reason for this is probably because the cellar is new and does not have a resident Oenococcus population. What we did was to order some sachets of Oenococcus and inoculate some of the slow barrels. All in all, malolactic fermentation is still the most poorly understood part of winemaking, so a lot is simply providing the correct conditions for the bacteria, and hoping it goes through sooner rather than later. We pressed our Mourvedre and the Cabernet and Merlot we had brought in. All was looking good. Having rushed to get everything finished in the vineyards there was not much to do until pruning starts in July. So we got the team attacking the alien trees in the river beds. The species we are trying to eradicate are Black Wattle, Port Jackson, Syringa and the Pine trees. They are a great drain on water, totally out compete the natural vegetation, and provide hiding places for the BABOONS. It's a huge job, and will take us many years, but we have to start somewhere. Unfortunately, some of the pine trees are way too big for our skill and tools. They are also very old and starting to die off and fall over in the wind. We managed to get hold of a guy who came and cut down these bigger trees for us, and in return he took the wood. The pines near the lowest area of the vineyard are draining water from the vines causing the nearest rows to be weaker than the rest. The pines also cause acidity in the soil, so they are going to be chopped. As all the wine was by now in barrel, in the malolactic cellar, we thought we would have an informal tasting of everything just to get a handle on where we were at this stage. The cellar is held at a constant 20 degrees by the very efficient air conditioning system. J-C is overall extremely pleased with the whole cooling set up. Our suppliers Coldfact have already installed the pipes for the tanks and the blowers that will be installed early next year. J-C has also put a hefty lock on the door! Inside the malo cellar we have (all barrels are French oak barriques containing 225 litres): 3 x old barrels of the 2002 TMV wine. We will probably bottle it in July. There should be around 900 bottles. No labels are required as the wine will not be offered for sale. We shall drink it ourselves or give it as gifts. We didn't taste it on this occasion. 3 x Straw wine barrels in Thales white wine second fill + 3 demi-johns of straw wine. We tasted it. Still very high in sugar but good acid is present. One barrel is higher than the others in sugar and will take over 12 months to ferment. The others will take around 9 months. All in all we are very hopeful of an excellent wine. 1x Saingee. In Thales white wine second fill. This is the bled juice of the grapes we brought in. The grapes were larger than the grapes we grew ourselves at TMV and to get the required concentration J-C bled off some juice after crushing. This is fermenting in the barrel. It has taken 5 weeks so far and will probably take another week. J-C will leave it on the lees, will stir it up, and let it settle, rack it and fine it with bentonite. It will make 250 to 300 bottles of very acceptable rose (we hope). 1x Cinsault. In a Thales second fill red barrel. This is to be used for blending. It has finished malolactic fermentation without the need for inoculation. The grapes were brought in. J-C selected the grapes as being the very ripest in the block that he could find. 20% of the juice was bled to concentrate it. If it is up to scratch it will be used as 5% of the second label blend depending on the quality. It has a brownish red colour and is high in alcohol (over 14%). It has an oily, floral, turpentine nose. It is very clear. It is very distinctive and long lasting on the palate. No filtration or fining required. It can be used in the blend to lift and enhance it and provide body. 22ppm SO2 was added before fermentation and 25ppm will be added before bottling. 4 x Merlot. 2 Sylvain and 2 Thales second fill. Grapes were brought in. It has not started malolactic fermentation, which is surprising. VA's have been tested and they are very low so no danger there. It has a very clean nose high in fruit with the high acid clearly showing. Lovely ruby colour. J-C is very happy with it and should be a very elegant Merlot without jammy over-ripeness. No fining or filtration required. Will add 25ppm SO2 after malo. 5 x Cabernet from the bottom block (Y2000 vines). 2 Boutes, 2 Demptos, 1 Thales second fill red. Has finished malo without inoculation. Lovely earthy warm nose. Not heavy but long lasting on the palate with soft mint and tobacco tones. Slightly sharp at the back of the palate but will open out with time. No heavy oak or alcohol. Well balanced and elegant. If there is a criticism it is the lack of power and concentration for a cabernet. That is very acceptable, as we would blend it with the Syrah and Mourvedre. Not a blockbuster power wine, but will be elegant.
1 x Top Cab (Y2001 vines). Thales second fill red. Not finished malo. Good structure but quite bitter and hard. Will open after malo and with time in barrel. 1 x Cab brought in. Thales second fill red. Actually started malo on the skins so nearly finished. Not opened up yet. A bit dry and herbaceous with some fruit, but none of the very distinct earthy quality of the TMV grapes. 1 x Cabernet/Syrah in Sylvain. TMV grapes from Y2000 vines. Almost finished malo, no inoculation. Was fermented in a Boutes barrel and therefore it is 200% new oak! It is very dark with a heavy dry vanilla nose. It is heavily extracted and concentrated with many competing flavours. Possibly slightly over the top. It would be difficult to drink even half a bottle as your mouth would dry out, but a very interesting addition to any blend to boost the oak and the power. 1 x Cabernet/Syrah in Thales second fill. Almost finished malo, no inoculation. Fermented in Demptos so 150% new oak. It has a great dry exotic perfumed nose and a wonderful smooth palate with slight farmyard tones. It is concentrated and classy. Could be a real winner. This fermentation in new oak for the Cab could be a real discovery. 2 x Mourvedre in Thales second fill. Finished malo no inoculation. Fantastic highly perfumed sweet peppery nose. Full palate with no greenness or grip. Nice ripe tannin. It was on the skins for 8 weeks to get the extraction required. It has great character and will be a lovely wine. 8 x Top block of Y2000 Syrah. Just started malo. Some barrels needed inoculation to speed up the process. In 2 Vicord, 2 Hermitage and 4 Thales second fill. Great nose even coming through the malic acid smell. Loads of earthy character. J-C reckons we have a fantastic elegant wine. He is very happy with it. Could even be world class. 7 x Bottom block of Y2000 Syrah. Not yet finished malo. Needed inoculation to speed it up. 2 Sylvain, 2 Hermitage, 4 Thales second fill. As above loads of character. What is amazing is the earthy warm palate. This is a theme that runs through the TMV grapes and is not present in the imported grapes. If handled carefully could be the signature of the wine. 14 x Cab brought in. 3 Seguin Moreau, 1 Sylvain, 1 Boutes, 1 Demptos, 8 Thales second fill. It doesn't have the distinct earthiness of TMV but is solid. 12 x Y2001 TMV Syrah. 3 Seguin Moreau, 1 Sylvain, 1 Boutes, 1 Demptos, 6 Thales. Not finished malo so hard to tell. Strong palate with farmyard nose. Great balance even if the alcohol is over 14%. Fruit present and could be a class wine. 64 barrels of wine sitting in the maturation cellar. Our first vintage, and we are proud of it. Granted that this is very early in the maturation (or elevage), but we came to the conclusion that our TMV grapes stand up very well against the imported grapes. The Syrah is great. The Mourvedre is excellent. The Cab may lack what the purists look for in terms of power and concentration but we think it is very elegant and warm. We think the idea of fermentation in new oak for the Cab should be explored further next year as that really shone through in the 2 barrels J-C did. We can buy 500litre barrels for the purpose and age it in them as well. We don't have that much cab and our yields will always be low especially in the top block. We do have a distinctly earth/soil farmyard character running through the TMV grapes which we should develop as a distinguishing feature of our wine. Early days but we are happy so far. We also must record that we had a couple of new additions to the TMV menagerie, two handsome mongrels from the Stellenbosch Dog Pound called Jack and Lilly. They were brother and sister and had lived the whole of their short (3 month) lives at the pound. They looked the ideal pair to grace the farm as company for us all, and especially J-C, who they adore.
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