A word from Albert Ahrens
soutsteen
All our wines are address specific, from a unique Terrior or Appellation as the French call it. This is our first duel region wine. The first vintage, 2022, is Palomino from Piekenierskloof and Chenin Blanc is from Paarl. Palomino grows well in extreme climates, usually hot and dry. Piekenierskloof is perfect for Palomino as it is both hot and dry yet with cool nights as it is situated on a plateau at around 700m altitude.
It is the grape mostly used in Jerez(Spain) for the production of Sherry. It’s a “bland” & neutral varietal, yet it’s known for its distinctive salty taste which pairs exceptionally well with food. The Chenin component is selected annually from one of the existing Chenin’s we produce, to bring some balance and beauty to complement the saltiness of the Palomino. The name Soutsteen translates to “Salt-Rock” . The “Sout”(Salt) part refers to the Palomino and “Steen” is a synonym for Chenin Blanc in South Africa.
Label art – We decided to change our labels for the 2022 vintage and foreseeable future. We started our winery in 2008 with “blank” labels signifying a clean page of new beginnings to communicate address as the identity of a wine rather than a grape varietal. In 2016 we moved to using art pieces on our labels done by well-known artists of South Africa. Each artwork represented a unique expression of each wine. We did that from 2016 to 2021 an accumulated many amazing art pieces during that time.
Our new look communicates our “clean” and minimalistic approach to how we make our wines. The small intrinsic details in our designs symbolize our attention to small, yet very impotent details in our minimal intervention winemaking style.
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