2014 Keermont, Terrasse, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2014 Keermont, Terrasse, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Product: 20141365193
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2014 Keermont, Terrasse, Stellenbosch, South Africa

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Description

This Chenin Blanc-dominated blend from Keermont is just wonderful. Made from 65% Chenin Blanc (half of which comes from 43-year-old vines), 17% Sauvignon Blanc (from 27-year-old vines), 13% Chardonnay and 5% Viognier, it tastes more like a wine from the Swartland than from Stellenbosch. Winemaker Alex Starey has done an amazing job with the fruit here; this is lifted, floral and pure with a fresh apricot sweetness running through its core and a lovely mandarin note to the long finish. The wine dances on the palate and has superb precision and poise. This is one for my cellar.
Catriona Felstead MW, New World Buyer

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate93/100
Keermont's 2014 White Blend Terrasse is 65% Chenin Blanc, 13% Chardonnay, 17% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Viognier, fermented in French oak barrels and matured for 12 months on the lees, with a small part in stainless steel. Here we have a different set of aromatics to the 2010 and 2011. It is more tensile than I recollect previous vintages at this stage - orange blossom, touch of tangerine and honeysuckle. The palate is class, pure class. Winemaker Alex Starey has nailed the acidity here and imparted wonderful tension and poise. This is one of the purest "Terrasse" that I have encountered at this earlier stage and it will be a job to see how this develops in bottle.
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate - eRobertParker.com - Nov 2015

Alex Starey is one of the new breed of Stellenbosch winemakers. I am considering asking the South African authorities to do a selection massale of Alex, maybe take graftings from his hair, in order to create new winemakers that can be distributed across the region. Seriously though, Alex has really put Keermont on the map in recent years with a succession of superb Rhône blends. I asked him whether there has been any recent changes. "We have planted Roussanne and Marsanne recently," he told me. "That is the only major change. The first crop will be 2017 and the idea is to eventually add them into the Terrasse. The 2014 Terrasse was a bigger vintage in terms of production than normal. Predominantly 30% of fruit comes from the old Riverside block and is supplemented with Chenin Blanc from Low Ride and a new plot - Bobbejaan vineyard, which apparently the baboons still love. They still eat a few grapes. Chardonnay will come in next year from the old terraces that were farmed in the 1970s. I've been trying to capture the freshness, so I had to pick quite quickly in 2014, but we can't push it too far." Needless to say, these are outstanding wines that do the reputation of Stell Read more
Other4.5
Distinctive white blend named for terraced Stellenbosch Mountain home. Exuberant & harmonious 2014 (4.5 stars) chenin-led with chardonnay, sauvignon & sunny apricot tones from 5% viognier. Rich yet full of verve, trace of grip providing further dimension. Shines even brighter than 2013.
Platter Wine Guide, wineonaplatter.com, Oct 2015  Read more

About this WINE

Keermont Vineyards

Keermont Vineyards

Keermont intends to create wines that reflect the beautiful place from which they come and the particular year’s vintage conditions. The wines are made as naturally as possible with very little vineyard irrigation and minimal intervention in the winery.

The estate has been owned by the Wraith family since 2003. Two thousand and five saw the start of a significant vineyard-planting programme on lands that had been fallow for several years. Seventeen hectares were planted over four years to add to an existing eight hectares of older vineyards. Keermont’s official maiden vintage came in 2007.

The farm is high up in the picturesque Blaauwklippen Valley, or Paradyskloof (Paradise Valley) in South Africa. Due to the steepness of the terrain, the altitude climbs 200m within the 1.7km length of the farm, and the vineyards are planted between 250m and 400m above sea level. Thus, the vines planted over these different terrains produce wines with good complexity and various flavors. In addition, the proximity to False Bay and the Indian Ocean also moderates the climate in the vineyard.

Winemaker Alex Starey oversees the vineyards and makes the estate’s wines. Employed at the start of the redevelopment of the farm in 2005, he has traveled and worked in wine regions, including Maipo Valley in Chile, Penedès and Priorat in Spain, and St-Emilion and Côte-Rôtie in France.

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Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch is South Africa’s best-known wine region, producing a wide variety of wines from leading estates, even though it accounts for less than 20 per cent of the country’s total production. Designated wards within the wine region are Jonkershoek Valley, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, Bottelary, Devon Valley and Papegaaiberg.

At 17,500 hectares, Stellenbosch remains the Cape's most famous and important fine wine district, thanks to its proximity to Cape Town, to the cooling influences of False Bay, its mountainous (ie Helderberg, Simonsberg), granitic topography and its centres of learning such as Elsenburg Agricultural College. 

It's notable for the refinement of its Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, especially from the likes of Glenelly EstateKeermont Vineyards Oldenburg Vineyards, Raats Family and Anwilka

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Other Varieties

Other Varieties

There are over 200 different grape varieties used in modern wine making (from a total of over 1000). Most lesser known blends and varieties are traditional to specific parts of the world.

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