Lismore Estate Vineyards, Cape South Coast, Chenin Blanc 2021

The Chenin Blanc grapes come from Standord, in the Walker Bay subregion, which is located close to the most southern tip of Africa's Cape South Coast. It is classified as a cool-climate site which contributes to the crisp minerality in the wine. The coastal breezes temper the warm microclimate and imbue the vines with moisture from the sea, the result is a longer hang time for the fruit, which allows the grapes to gradually reach maturation, while building aromatic complexity and retaining natural balancing acidity. The vines are planted on mostly sandy soils, which offer excellent drainage properties. The vines are planted on trellises, judiciously irrigated and hand harvested at optimum maturity.

The fruit was gently whole-bunch pressed, extracting 600 litres per tonne. The juice was cold settled over night and then racked off the lees for natural fermentation with wild
yeasts in barrel. The juice was barrel-fermented, of which two new 500-litre barrels were used, the remainder was fermented in 400-litre neutral barrels. The wine spent 11
months on the lees, imparting the wine with texture and complexity.

Californian Samantha O'Keefe has found paradise and the perfect terroir. Tucked into the foothills of a dramatic mountain range at the bottom of Africa, Lismore Estate
Vineyards was born alongside her nascent family. A passionate vision, combined with vines planted at 300 metres, which are chilled by winter snow and nourished by the African summer sun, produces classic, cool climate wines which are rich, complex and lovingly hand-crafted.

Cool 2020 winter temperatures and high rainfall across the vintage meant that the 2021 harvest commenced around 10 days later than usual, compared to the average over the last five years. The cooler vintage meant that the grapes retained excellent balancing acidity and show excellent aromatic complexity, 2021 is looking like a fantastic vintage.