Harvest 2013 Overview
2013’s Harvest is almost complete, and we sat down with Cellar Master Frans Smit to find out how the wine harvest is progressing. This vintage had a very cool build-up to harvest and an unusually cool February, resulting in great fruit concentration, specifically on the white wines. Frans also think 2013 will be remembered for some great white wines. 2013 Wines will also be characterised by good natural acidity, meaning they will age well.
We’ve had an average sized crop, although it has been much larger compared with the previous years’ smaller crops. We started harvesting a bit later than previous years, but thanks to the mild weather with no significant heat waves the harvest came in at a steady pace.
In previous years, our top Sauvignon Blanc came from Durbanville, as well as the cooler regions of Elim. However, this year being cooler, the traditionally warmer area of Darling delivered a great Sauvignon Blanc crop. This area had a lot of rain during winter, and our dry-land vineyards received rain until late in December.
The late-ripening white cultivars like Chenin Blanc and Semillon caught us off guard a bit. Some batches came in with a bit of sunburn or damage due to late February rains, which meant we had to pay extra attention in the cellar and time will show the results of our efforts.
We have also started experimenting with spontaneous fermentation, as this truly reflects a wine’s terroir in the flavour profile. We have attempted to allow all our barrel-fermented wines to ferment naturally.
Our team probably has another two weeks left of harvesting, but that doesn’t mean the work in the cellar is done! Pump overs, pressing and barrel selection will keep our team busy through the long weekends.
Well done and thanks to the team for all their efforts – and cheers to vintage 2013!