kwarts van die paarl

W.O. Paarl

Single Vineyard Old Bush-vine Chenin Blanc. All my wines are address specific, from a unique terroir or Appellation as the French call it. Chenin Blanc is South Africa’s most important white grape and is versatile & well adapted to our warm as well as cooler climates. We are currently producing three Old Vine Chenin’s (OVC). This is our OVC from the northern Paarl wine region and the lightest of our three OVC’s. Components are harvested at different ripeness levels in order to create a harmonious balance between rich & ripe Chenin flavours and freshness & acidity of the earlier picking. The aim of this wine is to produce a white wine that defines the northern Paarl ward, and hopefully, in time, becomes the identity style of the northern Paarl region.

Label art – KWARTS van die PAARL directly translates to “Quartz from Paarl” and hence the artist sketched this sample of quartz from the actual vineyard. Quartz rich soils produce white wines with minerality and freshness as the root system taps into the minerals released into the soil. The relatively lighter yellow colour used by the artist shows the lighter intensity of this wine, as the rocks become the soil, and the soil influences the wine.

Wine Analysis & Info

Vineyards

Old bush-vine in the northern Paarl region planted in 1977

Grapes

Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc with ±10% unofficial inter-planted Palomino

Soil

Shale with loads of medium sized quartz rocks

Alcohol

13.0% by Vol