The Fledge & Co Klipspringer

Leon informs me:

Philosophy – To express unique Steen climats & vintage, while crafting a fine wine which improves with time in bottle – to this end we as far as possible utilize gnarled old Steen vines, prefer extended ferments in old French oak & stainless-steel, matured sur lie (on the lees), bottle unfined & unfiltered.

Vineyard – A quartet of dry land bush vines: ’76 Piketberg vines rooted in decomposed sandstone, combine with a ’76 Paardeberg vines on highly decomposed poor granitic soils, ’83 vines rooted in the decomposed schists of the leeward side of Kasteelberg combine with gnarled ’72 Malmesbury vines rooted in the poor red ferricrete rich decomposed granites. Each site is hand harvested at dawn from the first week to mid-February. A generous vintage akin to ‘15 despite the climatic chaos – super low winter rainfall, early spring, warm summer & relatively “normal” season – resulted in small clusters of fruit, great concentration & buxom wines.

Vinification – All fruit is crushed directly into small pneumatic press & allowed a few hours skin contact prior to gentle pressing, thereafter the juice was settled overnight prior to racking with a fair share of fine lees. Each climat is fermented separately & only neutral yeasts are used– the Piketberg was fermented in old 400L French oak where after it was taken to old 300L & 228L French oak; a portion of the ’72 Malmesbury was barrel fermented & matured in old 228L French oak puncheons. The Paardeberg, Kasteelberg & rest of the Malmesbury fruit was cold fermented in Inox & matured for 9 months on its fine lees prior to final blending. The final blend was kept in Inox for 4 months on its fine lees prior to bottling unfined & unfiltered, under screw cap to preserve the essence of the site, vintage & vines. Only yeast & small amounts of sulphur are utilized.

Wine – Perhaps our most expressive vintage – orange blossom, ripe cling peach, yellow & orange citrus, dried pineapple, hay, flirtations of Rooibos & typical Swartland spice abound on the bouquet. The palate is generous yet a tad unyielding & satisfyingly lengthy. A perfect partner for roast fowl, traditional Cape Malay dishes, fresh crustaceans & other denizens of the deep, firm fromage or enjoy as an aperitif. Serve lightly chilled & best decanted. Klipspringer most definitely benefits from careful cellaring, as it allows the it slowly gain complexity, nuance & generosity.

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