Green harvesting followed by rigorous selection in the vineyard waspractised so as to ensure that only the healthiest grapes are crushed. The grapes were hand-picked at daybreak and were gently crushed, destemmed and underwent twelve hours skin contact at twelve degrees Celsius followed by immediate pressing. The free-run and press juice was fermented at sixteen to eighteen degrees Celsius using a yeast selected in the Rheingau. The fermentation was stopped by chilling and centrifuging to achieve the required sugar level. The wine was stabilised & filtered before bottling.

With demand for our Riesling outstripping the supply from our producing Estate vineyards we sought to identify and secure extra volume to satisfy the demand without diminishing the quality for which we have become renowned whilst our new plantings are establishing themselves. Fortunately we didn’t have to look far, a near neighbour of ours, and the grower was happy for us to be involved in the viticulture of the vineyard. Our Estate grown Riesling makes up the majority of this 2005 bottling as it should be.