Vanderstel

Port wine braised beef short ribs.

Jean Engelbrecht along with his friends Dillie Malherbe and Jannie Durand set out to create a wine that would not only embody all that is Stellenbosch but that would also pay homage to this great town at the heart of the Cape winelands. Each wine in this range pays tribute to an historical landmark in Stellenbosch.

Ideal winter conditions provided substantial rainfall to supplement water reserves, with good cold units throughout the winter months of 2021. Bud-break was slightly later than usual due to the cold winter. Rainfall in the spring was also good for our vineyards during the critical times of flowering and crop set. A warm January in 2022 with a few heat waves was good for ripening, especially the red varieties. Relatively dry summer months allowed for grapes to reach full phenolic ripeness, with a long hangtime for flavour development.

The wine was matured in 300l French oak barrels for 12 months.

Varieties and parcels were vinified separately. Fermentation was completed in open-top stainless-steel fermenters. Primary fermentation took 7 days during which punch-downs and pump-overs were performed 4 times daily. After this the wine was macerated on the skins for 14 days to ensure balanced extraction of phenolics.