Darling Cellars Lime Kilns 2017

This wine shows a lot of tropical notes like peaches apricot and citrus fruit like orange peel. This is a seriously complexed wine that has a great mid palate with good length and ageing potential. This is a definite food wine.

81% Chenin Blanc, 16% Viognier, 3% Chardonnay

Pairs well with smoked duck, roasted chicken, Norwegian salmon, pan-fried halibut, pumpkin ravioli , lobster, grilled veal chops with mushrooms and sushi.

The grapes are harvested from dryland farmed vineyards in Darling, where the vines are not trellised and planted as bush vines on deep red oakleaf soils. These grapes ripen as nature intended without human intervention. Vineyards are monitored for optimal picking times, adopting a combination of sampling and tasting to optimize the richer tropical (thiol) notes. The Viognier vines are situated high up in the south-western facing hills looking towards Table Mountain, Chenin Blanc harvested from 38 years old bush vines and the Chardonnay from 24 year old vines. All three vineyards produce very low yields of 2-3 tons per hectare.

Crush and destalk, barrel fermented in 300 and 500 litre French oak barrels. Racked to barrels and left for 9 months on the lees.

THE STORY BEHIND THE LABEL

Lime Kilns were a familiar sight on the West Coast in years past. These kilns were used to burn mussel shells producing lime which was then used for varied applications. The agricultural use of lime is well known for the treatment of acidic soils making them more pH neutral, essential for the planting of various crops, such as wheat and vines. With this beautifully blended wine, we return to the roots of our farming history and take note of the part that nature plays in crafting this fine wine.