Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Californian Samantha O’Keefe has found paradise and the perfect terroir. Tucked into the foothills of a dramatic mountain range at the bottom of Africa, Lismore Estate Vineyards was born alongside her nascent family. A passionate vision, combined with vines planted at 300 metres, which are chilled by winter snow and nourished by the African summer sun, produces classic, cool climate wines which are rich, complex and lovingly hand-crafted.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
Samantha O’Keefe performed miracles to produce this wine: because a fire destroyed part of her vineyards and all of her finished wine in late 2019, she had to select wines from different vineyards in Stellenbosch, with 15% also coming from the upper Hemel-enAarde valley in Hermanus, whose grapes bore close resemblance to those lost on her vineyard.

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
The wine was made in an ‘oxidative’ style. The must was barrel-fermented in older 300litre barrels to bring forward richness and additional complexity. The wine was given extended less contact with occasional bâtonnage, to contribute further to the rounder mouth feel and creaminess of this elegantly textured wine. The wine was aged for nine months. The bracing acidity that is customary in New World Sauvignon Blancs has been brought into balance with a carefully chosen pick date and the barrel fermentation, creating a full-bodied, balanced wine.

OUR TASTING NOTES:
This barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc is a full bodied, elegant and beautifully balanced wine. Floral notes of passion flower, fynbos and granadilla, combine with guava, gooseberry and pear on the palate along with an underlying minerality, imparting its signature style. A true expression of this unique terroir and its equally unique winemaker.

GRAPE VARIETY:
Sauvignon Blanc 100%.

AWARDS:
• 91 Points, Wine Advocate, 2024
• 94 Points, Tim Atkin MW, 2024
• 92 Points, Neal Martin, 2024