(375ml)

The KEERMONT FLEURFONTEIN (‘flower fountain’) derives its name from a beautiful Spring on the farm. The Sauvignon Blanc vineyard from which grapes are sourced for this wine lies just below this Spring. We use a particular technique to produce raisins in the vineyard, which gives the Fleurfontein its sweetness. We have started blending in vine-dried Roussanne for more complexity.

Our vineyard team use pliers to pinch the stem of the bunches while they ripen on the vine, this pinching action stops the translocation of fluids from the vine to the grapes. This allows the fruit to dry naturally or desiccate on the vine, during the warm Summer. We do this pinching process when the grapes are at optimal ripeness in order to concentrate the juice, with the perfect balance of sugar and acidity. The raisins are harvested a few weeks later and the syrupy juice is squeezed from them with a hard pressing process. The grape syrup is slowly fermented by indigenous yeast in Hungarian and French oak barrels and then matured in these barrels for 18 months.

Total production for this bottling was five barrels yielding 2566 bottles. All grapes used in producing this wine were grown on Keermont Vineyards. Processing, maturation, and bottling were carried out by hand in our cellar.

 

TASTING NOTE

Yellow gold in colour, the Fleurfontein 2022 exudes aromas of dried apricot, litchi, and pineapple with hints of almond, vanilla and sweet spice. The palate is full and creamy with concentrated flavours of dried fruit, honey vanilla biscuit and a touch of grassy freshness. A central core of acidity gives the wine a long, complex, caramel finish. Drink now through to 2035.

 

VINTAGE REPORT

2022 will go down as a very successful and plentiful vintage at Keermont. On paper it was a vintage of two halves. The first half of the season was very cool and wet. We recorded the wettest winter since starting to farm Keermont Vineyards in 2005! These conditions led to good growth in the early season, but also increased disease pressure. We had to work hard to keep up with the strong growth in order to keep all the vines trimmed and tucked in to ripen the crop ideally. By Christmas time we could see that we had a lovely looking crop of grapes ripening on the healthy green vines.

After Christmas the weather changed completely and we had a hot and dry run into harvest. The grapes, which we thought were going to be harvested late, ripened quickly under healthy conditions. Harvest started on 1 February which is normal for us. The vineyards consistently delivered good yields and the winery tanks filled up quickly. We pressed our biggest vintage ever in the Keermont Winery: just over 90 tonnes of healthy, estate grown fruit!

 

BLOCKS

Vineyard Variety Rootstock Planted Percentage in blend
Low Road Sauvignon blanc 101-14Mgt 2005 85%
Riverside Roussanne R 110 2014 15%


ANALYSIS

Alc: 10.5 %
pH: 3.72
TA: 6.6 g/L
RS: 293.8 g/L
TSO2: 184 mg/L
VA: 1.60 g/L

 

ACCOLADES

FLEURFONTEIN 21: 96 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 21: 90 pts WINE SPECTATOR
FLEURFONTEIN NV: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
FLEURFONTEIN NV: 94 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 19: 97 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
FLEURFONTEIN 19: 90 pts WINE SPECTATOR
FLEURFONTEIN 19: 93 pts WINE MAGAZINE
FLEURFONTEIN 19: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
FLEURFONTEIN 18: 95 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
FLEURFONTEIN 18: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
FLEURFONTEIN 18: 92pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 17: 93pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 17: 4 stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
FLEURFONTEIN 17: 93 pts NEAL MARTIN
FLEURFONTEIN 15: 95 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 15: 94 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
FLEURFONTEIN 14: 94 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 14: 94pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
FLEURFONTEIN 13: FIRST CLASS British Airways
FLEURFONTEIN 13: 16.5 pts JANCIS ROBINSON
FLEURFONTEIN 12: 91pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
FLEURFONTEIN 12: 94 ptsTIM ATKIN (MW)
FLEURFONTEIN 12: FIRST CLASS British Airways
FLEURFONTEIN 12: 4½ starsPLATTER GUIDE 2015
FLEURFONTEIN 10: 92 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
FLEURFONTEIN 10: 4 stars PLATTER GUIDE 2012