'Kaalvoet Steen' - Chenin Blanc 2021

Fruit is sourced from an old single vineyard that once made its way into a large, commercial Western Australian blend.

“Kaalvoet” - Afrikaans word for barefoot, referring to the method in which the handpicked fruit was crushed.

Grown on gravelly loam alluvial soils. This North - East facing site captures a fair amount of sunlight resulting in optimal ripening. Due to 2021 being a relatively cool challenging season, fruit was picked on the earlier side to avoid adverse weather conditions.

As with all our wines minimal intervention and handling was used- whole bunches basket pressed to tank for light settling overnight before racking to older neutral oak for fermentation. Roughly 30% of the parcel was destemmed and allowed to ferment naturally on skins until dryness. This component was blended back to add texture and phenolic weight to the final blend. The wine remained on gross lees with no sulphite additions until the first racking, before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

The 2021 ‘Kaalvoet Steen’ is a great example of modern Australian Chenin Blanc demonstrating just how versatile the variety can be.