Viognier Roussanne

French onion soup, peach-glazed pork chops & roasted barramundi fillets

Sutherland Vineyards is situated just 9 kms off the Atlantic Ocean with altitudes of 140 to 250 meters above sea level. The cool maritime climate allows for slower ripening than in other Cape Wineland areas producing wines with vibrant concentrated fruit flavours and an elegant minerality. All Sutherland wines are bottled and produced at the estate in Stellenbosch.

The season began with mild and dry conditions which had a crucial impact on grape quantity and quality. Drier conditions limited berry mass and subsequently yields, but also ensured outstanding quality. The cool ripening period aided early cultivars, and high-quality wines were prepared during this time. Late cultivars, which had to wait until after the rains to go to the cellar, presented producers with various challenges. Despite these challenges, vineyards that were well-managed handled the unfavourable conditions well and produced high-quality grapes.

After fermentation the wine is topped and left on the lees with regular lees stirring for 9 months. Only partial malolactic fermentation was allowed to occur in order to retain the natural acidity and balance in the wine. The barrels were all French oak 228 litre barrels of which all were older barrels. The wine was bottled in January 2024.

The grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and pressed to stainless steel tanks for cold settling overnight. The clarified juice is then racked to a holding tank where we inoculate with a selected yeast strain & nutrients, homogenise the tank, take the juice down to barrel for fermentation.