Cape Rock Wines
Cape Rock Wines ligt tussen de dorpen Vredendal en Klawer, zo’n 300km ten noorden van Kaapstad en een kleine 30km land inwaarts vanaf Doringbaai aan de west kust (Atlantische Oceaan).
De temperatuur op de wijngaard kan overdags hoog oplopen, maar vanwege de koele nachten en de aangename zeebries is de gemiddelde temperatuur hier niet veel hoger dan in de bekendere wijnregio’s rondom Kaapstad, zoals Stellenbosch. Vaak vindt de oogst hier wel iets eerder plaats dan in andere wijnregio’s.
De wijnmaker en tevens eigenaar, Gavin Brand, maakt alle wijn zelfstandig met behulp van zijn ouders. Het streven van Gavin is om zijn wijnen op een zo simpel mogelijke manier te produceren in plaats van het ‘vermommen’ van de herkomst van de druiven door gebruik te maken van overgecompliceerde en moderne wijnproductie technieken, apparatuur, chemischetoevoegingen en het gebruik van nieuw hout/eik. Er wordt dan ook alleen met eigen druiven gewerkt, de wijnen ondergaan natuurlijke (co)fermentaties en worden niet of amper gefilterd. Daarnaast wordt er zo min mogelijk sulfiet gebruikt. De wijngaarden liggen allemaal op een 11 hectare boerderij aan de Olifantsrivier. Ondanks de kleine hoeveelheid wijngaarden, worden er toch veel verschillende druivensoorten verbouwd zoals Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier en Colombard.
Wijn informatie
Asylum (White Blend)
A Rhône inspired white blend. Varieties can differ per vintage but it mostly comes down to Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne.
The grapes were hand-picked in the morning and pressed to tank where it was chilled and settled for two days. All varieties were vinified separately with native yeasts. The components were aged in neutral tanks.
After 8 months the wines were racked, blended, cold stabilized and bottled with a light filtration. The blend aims to explore our idea of what simple table wine making was and what it should be today to reflect the terroir of the Olifants River region in a dry white wine made with minimal intervention. The wine displays white stone fruit aromas and earthy notes on the nose with a very soft texture on the palate.
Amnesty (Red Blend)
A Rhône inspired red blend. The percentages can differ per vintage but it mostly comes down to 1/3 of each Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre.
The grapes were hand-picked in the morning. The wine was fermented and aged in separate batches. A portion of the Syrah grapes were destemmed and others were left to ferment as whole bunches. All fermentations were natural in open fermenters. Pump overs and punch downs were performed twice daily to daily during the end of the fermentation. The free run juice was racked off the pulp and after pressing the wine components were racked to old 300L French oak barrels in which it matured for 12 months. The wine was racked from the barrels and blended two weeks before bottling unfined and very lightly filtered.
The blend aims to explore our idea of what red wine making was and what it should be today to reflect the terroir of the Olifants River region in a fruity, dry, naturally made red table wine. The wine is light in color and light bodied with a sweet nose of red summer berries and red fruits.
Cabernet Sauvignon
All the grapes were hand-picked and destemmed with a small mechanical destemmer into neutral fermentation vessels.
The pulp was chilled down with cooling plates submerged into the mash. The wine was naturally fermented for about 14 days and pump overs were performed twice daily to daily during the end of the fermentation. The free run juice was racked to tank and the pulp was pressed. The wine settled in tank for 8 weeks before being aged in old 300L French oak barrels for 12 months. The wine was racked from barrel two weeks prior to bottling without cold stabilization and with a light filtration at bottling.
The wine is medium bodied with hints of graphite, cedar and cassis flavors on the nose. The tannins are soft and fine.
Syrah
The grapes were hand-picked in the morning, 20% bunches were left whole with the remaining destemmed into open neutral fermentation vessels with cooling plates and fermented naturally. Pump overs and punch downs were performed twice daily to daily during the end of the fermentation. The wine was racked to a neutral tank and matured for 9 months. The wine was racked from fine lees in tank before bottling, unfined and not cold stabilized with a very light filtration at bottling. A lighter style of Syrah which focuses on pure fruit, perfume and white pepper notes rather than oak derived flavors. Combined with moderately low alcohol results in a refreshing wine.
It’s dark in color and medium bodied with a nose dominated by red summer berries, plums and a hint of pepper. The tannins are fine but grippy.
White Blend
A classic Rhône white blend. Varieties can differ per vintage but it mostly comes down to Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne.
All the grapes for this blend were hand-picked. After whole-bunch pressing, the juice was allowed to settle overnight in a tank. The clean juice was racked off the gross lees and cooled before natural fermentation started after +-3 days. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine was transferred to old 300L French oak barrels. The wine spent 11 months in barrel on its fine lees and was racked from barrel 10 days prior to bottling and filtered very lightly at bottling.
We love the flavors we get from these grape varieties in our area and we are still experimenting with ripeness levels and grape cultivar percentages. We recently planted some Vermentino to add even more complexity and higher acidity to the blend in the near future. Fermentation and ageing in oak make for a more stable wine and the slight oxidation that takes place adds interest to the final wine. Only older fine grain French oak barrels are used so that the barrels do not impart obvious oak derived flavors on the wine, if any such flavors at all.
The grapes were picked just before full ripeness in order to preserve as much natural acidity and freshness, resulting in a lean but still full-flavored wine, displaying strong fruit flavors like melon, a touch of banana, white peach, pear and fennel on the nose. The mouth feel is elegant and soft with good staying power.
Red Blend
A classic Rhône Red blend consisting of (per year differing percentages) Syrah, Mourvedre and little bit of Viognier (mostly not more than 5%).
All the grapes were hand-picked and destemmed with a small mechanical destemmer straight into a 2-ton capacity open wooden fermenter and other neutral open vessels. The pulp was chilled down with cooling plates submerged into the tanks. The wine was naturally co-fermented for about 10 days and pump overs were performed twice daily to daily during the end of the fermentation. The free run juice was racked to a settling tank and the pulp was pressed with a pneumatic press. The wine settled in tank for about 8 weeks before being aged in old 300L French oak barrels for 12 months.
The wine was not fined nor cold stabilized and lightly filtered at bottling. We believe in co-fermentation with natural yeasts when it comes to our Syrah based blends. We add Mourvedre for body and spice and Viognier for freshness and to enhance the aromatic profile with its subtle floral and dried apricot aromas. We aim to make a seamless wine expressing our terroir and always use older bigger fine grain French oak barrels so that there is very little oak influence on the resulting wine.
The wine is medium bodied with ripe red raspberry through to plums, violets, slight aniseed, pepper and other spice aromas on the nose that carries through to the palate. The tannins are soft and well-integrated.
Grenache
The grapes were hand-picked in the morning, destemmed into open neutral fermentation vessels with cooling plates and fermented naturally.
Pump overs and punch downs were performed twice daily to daily during the end of the fermentation. The free run and pressed wine was racked to a neutral storage tank in which it matured for 3 months. It was racked to old 300L French oak barrels in which it matured for 4 months before a final racking and blending two weeks before bottling and bottled unfined and not cold stabilized with a very light filtration at bottling.
When picked early and fermented for a short period on its skins, it makes for an extremely light fruity wine with a luminous red color. The moderately low alcohol level and short ageing in tank and neutral barrels results in a very refreshing wine. The wine is light in colour and light bodied with a nose dominated by pomegranate and red summer berries such as wild strawberry, raspberries. The tannins are extremely soft and silky smooth.
Carignan
The grapes were hand-picked in the morning, 20% of bunches were kept intact and crushed by foot, with the balance destemmed into a neutral fermentation vessel.
The pulp was chilled down with cooling plates submerged into the mash. The wine fermented naturally for about 10 days and pump overs were performed twice daily to daily during the end of the fermentation. The free run juice was racked to tank and the pulp and skins were pressed gently. The wine was stored in a neutral tank for 8 months and racked 2 weeks prior to bottling. The wine was not fined nor cold stabilized and lightly filtered at bottling. Since the first vintage we loved the freshness and drinkability of this wine, tasting it during the maturation phase.
It really tastes of the grapes. Our Carignan vineyard was planted to play a role as a blending component in our light red Amnesty blend, but to date we decided to rather let it stand on its own. The wine is light to medium bodied with hints of red cherry and some earthy flavors on the nose. The tannins are extremely soft and fine and the acidity (even though not high) quite noticeable.