Mother Rock Paying The School Fees White

THE SEASON LEADING UP TO 2023 VINTAGE
2023 was our official first vintage of then, 4-year-old vines, we had a warmer/drier winter than usual, with most rain falling only late July/August which then led into fair, dryer, spring conditions which then lead to bud burst being almost 3 weeks earlier on the 15th of September.
After not seeing much rain during spring we had big rains over December that was perfect for upcoming set and veraison giving the vines and soils replenishment and extra vegetative strength, to get through those crucial few weeks to set us up for harvest early February.
After what was in our books a very wet December, January and February was dry with lots of southwestern winds helping to keep the grapes healthy and free of mildew.
Being at 650m, plus, altitude and having the Atlantic coast only 35 kilometres away, we have very big diagonal shits in temperatures giving the grapes enough sunlight to fully ripen during the day but also rest in the cool nights, with temperatures that can drop to 10 degrees in midsummer….
The aspect faces south, southwest, looking directly into the cool southwestern winds, with a picture-perfect west coast sunset every evening.
THE WINE MAKING PROCESS
We pick the grapes, by hand, transport it in 20KG lug boxes to the cool room, giving the grapes time to chill over 24 hours, bringing the temperature down to 4 degrees Celsius.
The next day we would hand sort the grapes, removing all materials other than grapes.
Then it was transferred to a bin where we foot crush the grapes, leaving them to cold soak on the skins for another 24 hours.
The grapes were then pressed in a wooden basket press allowing oxidation to happen on the juice.
We then left the juice to settle overnight and will rack it to barrel the next day where fermentation will naturally start and finish.
The wine was then left, undisturbed for ageing.
WINE DETAILS
SAUVIGNON BLANC 39% – CHARDONNAY 23% – GRENACHE BLANC 23% – CHENIN BLANC 15%
pH 3.15 – TA 6.7g/l – ALC 12.53% – RS 1.4g/l – TSO2 33mg/l
PRODUCTION – 1788 BOTTLES
Aged in neutral French oak barrels for 22 months, racked with small sulphur addition in September 2024 and bottled on the 18th of September 2024.
NO FINNINGS OR FILTRATION WAS DONE