Wine Composition

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Winemakers Comments

The 2023 Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc, pale-straw in colour with an ever so slight green hue, hypnotises with a seductive bouquet showing fresh cape gooseberry, nettle, lemon zest, granny smith apple pith, and white peach. This cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc has a sumptuous entry tied to an enduring length. The lifting acidity maintains a lively flavour on the palate with citrus blossom and quince while maintaining a distinctive mineral core derived from the Steenberg terroir. All the elements of this wine will enable it to bottle age well over the next 2-5 years.

Awards

Tim Atkin | 88 pts

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage

14.06%

TA

6.6 g/l

pH

3.4

RS

2 g/l

Vinification

This wine is made up of a series of Sauvignon Blanc building blocks from different sites on Steenberg - harvested at different ripeness levels. Each block yields unique characteristics ranging from flinty, grassy, green pepper to gooseberry and ripe tropical flavours. The grapes were all hand-harvested in the cool, early mornings, starting at 6AM, to retain their delicate flavours. Skin maceration occurred after crushing from 8–24 hours at 10°C. The juice settled overnight, after which it was racked off clean, inoculated with yeast and allowed to ferment for up to 30 days at temperatures between 11°C - 15°C. Post fermentation; the wine lay on its fine lees for 60 - 90 days until blending, stabilising and bottling starting in late-May 2023.

Winemaker

Name - Elunda Basson

Winery

Steenberg holds the distinction of being the oldest farm in the picturesque Constantia Valley, which is generally considered to be South Africa’s premier wine growing region. With its cool, sea-facing slopes and majestic granite ridges, this vineyard has developed a worldwide reputation for producing excellent Cape wines. The estate boasts a state of the art modern winery, producing some of the country’s finest award-winning wines.