Wine Composition
100% Chardonnay
Winemaker Comments
This delicious Chardonnay has apricot, coconut and orange
peel aromas followed by flavors of marzipan, sponge cake and citrus
rounded off with carefully judged oak and balanced, fresh
acidity.
Awards
92 Points - Prescient Chardonnay Report
90 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2014
vintage)
4 Stars - Platter's Wine Guide
Technical Analysis
Alcohol Percentage
14.00%
pH
3.34
Residual Sugar
2.0 g/l
Total Acidity
5.7 g/l
Cellar Techniques
The grapes were whole-bunch pressed very slow and gently
with a Pneumatic Bag Press. After 24 hours cold settling in
stainless steel tanks, the juice was drained off into 40% new and
60% 2nd-fill Burgandian Hogsheads (300L barrels) for natural
fermentation and maturation. Bi-weekly stirring (Batonnage) was
exercised to enhance the extraction of flavour and aromatics, and
to aid the process of natural malolactic fermentation. After 12
months, the wine was racked from barrel for stabilization and
bottling.
Winemaker
Randolph Christians
Winery
Rustenberg has a wine-growing history dating back to 1682,
when Roelof Pasman from Meurs, near the Rhine, recognised its
wine-growing potential. By 1781 some 3000 cases of wine were
produced on the farm. Production doubled by the end of the century
and a new cellar was built. Wine has been bottled at this cellar
for an unbroken period since 1892.
In the early 1800s Rustenberg was divided by owner Jacob
Eksteen and a section was given to his son-in-law, who named it
Schoongezicht and sold it soon after. Rustenberg and Schoongezicht
were at their peak around 1812, with beautiful homesteads and
flourishing vineyards. But by mid-century, recession coupled with
disease in the vines, brought bankruptcy and dispossession.
Schoongezicht was rescued in 1892 by John X Merriman (who
was to become Prime Minister of the Cape), and Rustenberg by his
brother-in-law Sir Jacob Barry. Together they revitalised the
farms. Fruit was sent to Covent Garden; new vines were grafted onto
disease-resistant American rootstock; wines were exported to
England and the Continent – and even found in Siberia.
In 1941 Peter and Pamela Barlow bought Rustenberg, later
acquiring Schoongezicht and reuniting the properties. Their son
Simon took over the running of the farm in 1987. The Barlows have
been at Rustenberg for over 60 years: the longest period any one
family has owned the farm.
