Vineyards
There is something very special about this place in the mountains – solation, old vines, low rainfall, deep red sand over red clay. Huilkrans is made from old dry farmed Chenin parcels planted between 1974 and 1989 on a gentle southern slope at 450m above sea level. These big bushvines are wide planted (low density vineyards) with yields of just over 1 ton/Ha or around 0.6hl/Ha in 2019.
Technical Details
Varieties:
100% Chenin Blanc (Bushvines)
100% Chenin Blanc (Bushvines)
| Wine of origin | Citrusdal Mountain (aka Skurfberg), Oudam Farm |
|---|---|
| Production | 3446 bottles |
| Bottling | Jun 1 2020 |
| Alcohol | 13.88% |
|---|---|
| RS | 1.7 g/litre |
| TA | 6.5 g/litre |
| PH | 3.30 |
The Visser family chose the name Huilkrans, the name of a cliff on the farm that weeps when it rains. Since the untimely passing of their son Kallie in 2017, the name now has an unintended double meaning. Even so, they’ve elected to keep it unchanged. The label pays homage to Kallie.
Winemaking and Maturation
The grapes were hand sorted and whole bunch pressed. The juice is very lightly settled (we like very cloudy raw juice) with no additions to the raw juice, wild fermentation in old barrels 300L barrels (12 years old). Fermentation lasted for about one month. The wine was kept on lees for around 12 months, then rested in tank on fine lees without fining for a further six months prior to bottling. Very simple, careful winemaking.
Tasting Notes
Huilkrans 2019 has an open nose of orange skin and custard apple, soft spice and rooibos. The palate is already showing some of its potential, beautiful and full, hemmed in by earthy/rusty minerality plus acid that kicks like a giraffe who touched the electric fence.
