The vanguard brims with exuberant lemon blossom, jasmine, peach fruit, and orange sherbet. These more primary notes are complicated by chalk and gravel dust. On the palate, this classic cool climate Riesling shows pristine natural acidity, reminiscent of razor-like shards of lemon candy, padded with white citrus pith. Sweeter touches of green apple candy are interlaced with tart Seville orange notes, and touches of wild honey. This all leads to a remarkably lengthy tail of homemade lemonade, apricot preserve, and raw almond.

The 2023 vintage was a splendidly smooth ride for Elgin vignerons. Winter was delightfully cold, ensuring deep dormancy for the vines, followed by punctual and even budding in the Spring.

Rainfall was slightly lower than the previous year, but even this was useful, as it lowered vigour in the vines, which in turn lowered disease pressure, and made canopy management far easier to handle. Even the rain in December didn’t have any negative impact on the quality of fruit, because the cool season allowed another two months of hangtime after the rain before we harvested the grapes.

Moya Meaker’s Riesling vineyard was planted in 2006 on a southwest-facing slope on our estate in the Elgin Valley. The densely planted vines are rooted in ancient Bokkeveld shale soils; rich in clay.

The harvesting of our Riesling took place on 27th February at 21.4˚B. At the time of picking, the acidity levels were eye-wateringly high, but the explosive elderflower aromas coming off the grapes made it very obvious that we couldn’t wait any longer to harvest.

The grapes were handpicked in the early morning and chilled overnight. All of the fruit was de-stemmed, before being gravity-fed into the press. This gentle method of transfer ensures that berries are not crushed during the process (which would lead to the release of excessive phenolics). Skin contact was done in a sealed press for 6 hours, before starting the gentle pressing cycle.

The juice was settled in concrete tanks over 24 hours, before being racked to tulip-shaped concrete vessels for a long, cool fermentation, which lasted nearly 2 months. This slower process allowed us to more easily achieve the optimal balance between the residual sugar and acidity. Bottling took place after 9 months of lees contact. There was then a further 10 months of in-bottle maturation prior to release.

This wine will be at its most expressive within five years of vintage, but with careful cellaring will continue to evolve and improve for more than a decade.

TOTAL PRODUCTION: 2000 x 750ml
BOTTLING DATE: 2 December 2023
Origin: Elgin
Alc: 12.16%
pH: 3.18
TA: 6.8 g/L
RS: 7.4 g/L