Springfield Estate Wild Yeast Chardonnay

2023

Region: Robertson
Wine of Origin: Robertson
Winemaker: Abrie Bruwer

Producer Information

Set in the heart of the mountain-ringed Robertson Valley in the Western Cape of South Africa, Springfield Estate is a family-run wine farm owned by ninth-generation descendants of French Huguenots, who came to South Africa from the Loire in 1688 with bundles of vines under their arms.

The farm has been in the family since 1898 and today, using a combination of sometimes risky winemaking techniques, traditional methods and modern technology, along with a sense of practicality and dogged determination borne from living off the land all their lives, the Bruwer family is able to handcraft wine true to its motto: Made on Honour.

Wine Information

Alcohol: 13.27%
Residual Sugar: 2.4 g/l
PH: 3.45
TA: 8.41


Color: White
Varietals: Chardonnay (100%)
Style: Dry
Type: Still
Category: White unwooded
Unit of Measure: 750 ml
Production: 0 bottles
Price Code: D

Vines are unaware that humans turn their grapes into wine. They are destined to attract birds with sugar as the lure to transplant their seeds. These favored seeds will then have a head start in a competitive forest, for they are fertilized by the bird’s droppings. However, should the bird not pitch the vine would very much like to re-use the sugar it had produced so laboriously. So over time it evolved an unique system to ferment this sugar. The grape will first develop a waxy layer to attract the wild yeast it so greatly desires. The yeast then breaks down the skin and ferments the sugar into alcohol. Then vinegar bacteria, also present, will turn this wild wine into an organic type of vinegar, dripping onto the forest floor to nourish the mother plant –to present a new crop of seeds next year. We allow these fickle yeasts to live in our vineyard by not applying the usual sprays to kill them. We endure their temperament while they ferment their wine in our cellar. And only if it is special enough, will we present it –like the mother vine –to the wild world.

Production

Suitable for Vegetarians Yes
Suitable for Vegans Yes
Vineyard / Terroir / Climate Vineyard Chardonnay, 20 year old vines; Clone CY3 on 101/14 Yield 2.5 t/ha Terroir: Slope: Very gentle, southerly Soil: Chalk and calcrete formations Climate Moderate summer with low night temperatures, cold winter Wind: South easterly (summer)
From Old Vines No

Certifications

Product is Certifified Organic No
Product is Certifified Biodynamic No
Local Certifications NOT APPLICABLE
NOT APPLICABLE
Is Fairtrade Certified No
Fairtrade Accreditation