Max 2005 Wine

This wine is a blend of 56 Cabernet Sauvignon from slate soils in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch, 20 % Petit Verdot from coffee stone gravel soils (also in the Bottelary area), and 24 % Merlot from decomposed granite soils in Stellenbosch's Banhoek Valley.

The vineyards are unirrigated, or irrigated supplementally by drip when absolutely necessary. They are low yielding vines (4 to 8 t/ha), giving a pure expression of their environment.

The grapes are ripened to peak maturity (around 25 Balling) before being hand harvested and delivered to the cellar. After desteming the berries pass over a sorting table for the removal of all unwanted material, raisins and green berries. The berries then fall through a crusher and drop via gravity into wooden fermenters. Fermentation takes place by the yeast naturally occurring on the grape and can take up to 14 days to complete. Extraction occurs through regular pumpovers, punch-downs or délestage.

Depending on tannin quality, ripeness and development the wine may remain on the skins for up to an additional 2 weeks before pressing in a basket press. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, after which the wine is racked and returned to barrel for further maturation. Maturation takes place in 225-litre French barriques - of which 40 % are new - and lasts for 20 months with regular rackings. The wine received a light egg white fining before bottling with no filtration.

7200 bottles were produced.