'T Voetpad 2018
South Africa, Swartland
Alcohol
13.5%
Analytical data
dry
Vineyard: North-western side of the Piquetberg Mountains
This is surely the most isolated old vineyard in the country, presumably originally planted to supply the farmer and his neighbours. Its 1.4 hectares host varieties established in the Cape since the early days of European settlement, with most of the planting done between 1900 – 1928, and all of the vines grow on their own roots (even the chenin - untroubled by phylloxera).
The vineyard’s survival without irrigation is also extraordinary in this hot valley in the north of the huge Swartland region, near the village of Aurora and Elands Bay on the coast. Its precise location has allowed it to survive, with an underground river flowing beneath it from the mountains.
Soil Type
Heavily decomposed Table Mountain sandstone
Viticulture
No herbicides have been used, and grass and weeds between the vines help dry out the winter-wet soils, while driving the vine roots deeper.
Vinification
’T Voetpad is a field blend of all the varieties - they are picked and pressed together, and co-ferment in old wooden casks.
