Méthode Cap Classique

Parma Ham & Red Figs served with walnuts.

In 1983 Gyles Webb and his wife's family purchased a run-down fruit farm at the top of the Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch where they established Thelema Mountain Vineyards. At a time when the South African wine scene was focused on quantity rather than quality Webb was a trailblazing pioneer on a mission to craft world-class wines. Construction began on the winery in 1987 and Thelema produced its first vintage in 1988. Situated on the slopes of the Simonsberg Thelema occupies mainly south-facing aspects that afford spectacular views of the Simonsberg Drankenstein and Jonkershoek mountains. Elevations ranging from 370 to 640 meters above sea-level make the 157-hectare estate one of the coolest and highest wine farms in Stellenbosch.

Faced with severe drought, the challenging conditions of the 2018 harvest resulted in one of the smallest yields in years. Yet despite the significant difficulties, the cooler ripening period and smaller crops produced berries with concentrated flavour and intense colour providing wines of notable quality.

The MCC was allowed to age under crown cap for 68 months, after which the wine was disgorged, and a small amount of Dosage was added.

The grapes were harvested early in the morning by hand to keep the fruit cool. They were loaded straight into the press for a gentle whole-bunch press cycle. Thus, ensuring premium quality juice is on hand for the base wine. The juice was clarified using the cold settling technique and allowed to settle for 48 hours. The clean juice was racked to the fermentation tank where it completed its alcoholic (primary) fermentation at 14 °C. After fermentation, we prepared the tank for bottling, ensuring that the wine was cold-stable, protein stable and filtered. The tank’s Residual Sugar was adjusted to make sure that there is enough sugar for the yeast cells for the second fermentation (source of carbonation). We grow a yeast culture over a few days to add to the tank 30 minutes prior to starting bottling. The yeast is kept in suspension for the entire bottling to ensure that each bottle receives a dose of the all-important yeast cells. This is when the magic happens in the bottle, since the MCC bottle is now closed with a crown seal, the second fermentation’s CO2 that is produced during the ferment is unable to escape and thus ends up becoming dissolved into solution. In other words, this is where the MCC gets its lovely bubbles from.