Fable Mountain Vineyards - 'Jackal Bird' Chenin blanc, Western Cape - 2014 (750ml)

Wine Composition

49% Chenin Blanc, 21% Grenache Blanc, 17% Roussanne, 9% Chardonnay & 4% Viognier

Winemakers Comments

Aromas of citrus blossoms and ripe honeyed melon on the nose. Apple, pear and peach are embellished by spicy oak and thrilling acidity. Good texture and weight on the mid palate with a saline minerality on the finish.

Awards

Tim Atkin | 95 points

Stephen Tanzer | 91 points

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage

12.62%

pH

3.3

RS

3.8 g/

TA

5.7 g/l

Cellar Techniques

Named after a bird of prey that can often be seen catching the thermals high above the Fable farm, the Jackal Bird is a wine that uses the famous South African old vine Chenin Blanc as a foundation and augments it with aromatic and textural Southern Rhône cultivars. This wine is essentially a winemakers wine, as it is all about the blend but vineyards sites are important and we source our grapes from areas where each variety grows best. We not only get different components for the blend because of the different characteristics of the cultivars and sites but also from the winemaking techniques in the cellar. We use oxidative and reductive approaches, cold soak skin contact, and solids and clean ferments. No yeasts are ever added to any ferment and the wines spend the majority of the year on their lees. We also use a variety of vessels: 500l Oak barrels, Nomblot concrete egg tanks and some stainless steel. We aim for a fruit driven wine, that is supported by a more savoury solids and skin contact carrier as well as a little oak and lots of complexity.

Winemaker

Name: Tremayne Smith

Winery

The renovated gravity fed cellar combines the best of the old and new world: the latest equipment and knowledge with traditional techniques. Central to the winery design is the ability to process many small parcels of fruit. They selectively harvest only small sections of the vineyard . They are all handled separately and differently from fermentation to barrel. This ensures a full array of components and options come blending.The gravity fed cellar allows us to keep pumping to a minimum. It is very hands on, with bunch and berry sorting, only hand plunge downs, and they carry out long macerations for up to 4-6 weeks before pressing.