Dirty Little Secret Three, Ken Forrester

Dirty Little Secret Three 

Ken Forrester 

Western Cape, South Africa

Chenin Blanc

13% Abv 

Tasting Note

Generous, intense Chenin Blanc from South Africa, which is one of this grape's most natural homes; this version, by a renowned producer, has persistent notes of pear drop, lemon and tangerine and a refreshing citrus finish.

Vinification

Vineyard: There's so much more to looking ahead, my thoughts went to finding a proper old vineyard of veritable age, on a beautiful remote mountainside in the classic old "bush vine" or French "gobelet" style mimicking a brandy snifter in shape. A very old vineyard in the Piekenierskloof region, planted with no irrigation in 1965. This delightful old vineyard was proffered and I unhesitatingly accepted, knowing that the challenge was extreme somehow I had to make a wine that could show the age, experience of the vines and showcase the terroir and more specifically the vintage. A huge challenge indeed and added to that I wanted to present it as a unique once off! Not just an extension of what I already do, a single vintage by vintage challenge to show the year and the place and the most natural winemaking way possible.

Vinification: We've worked with wild yeasts and barrels etc. from the word go (yes, since 1994), low SO2 levels are the norm so naturally this "newfound" trend of natural winemaking caught my eye; especially the cloudy, unstable, technically dirty examples that vaunt their naturalness! Make it naturally, completely spontaneous ferment after extended soaking on skins and stalks before pressing, in barrels, straight on to malolactic fermentation and then only racked and a tiny addition of SO2. Back into beautiful old, natural 400L French barrels (6-10 years old) for a 5 month rest and natural clarification, then bottled unfiltered and unfined to comply with the "natural" rules and laws.