Sauvignon Blanc 2023 – Mulderbosch

Sauvignon Blanc Mulderbosch was one of the vanguards of the South African industry in the early 1990’s; Sauvignon Blanc Mulderbosch was memorably described by Jancis Robinson as ‘theCloudy Bay of South Africa’. The playing field has evolved significantly since then, and in order to remain distinctive Mulderbosch began ageing their Sauvignon Blanc in neutral 500 litre barrels from the 2016 vintage. 24% of the blend was matured in neutral 500 litre French oak barrels for six months, while the remainder was matured in stainless steel tanks on the fine lees.

The grapes come from Mulderbosh’s estate vineyard and from the slopes of Simonsberg, the Polkadraai ward and vineyards close to False Bay on the lower slopes of the Helderberg. Some of the vineyards are within four kilometres of False Bay, where the strong influence of the Atlantic Ocean has a cooling effect during the warmest months of the year, encouraging balancing acidity to the concentrated fruit produced in this warm region. There is a strong geological consistency of decomposed granite to all the vineyards; while the soils consist of varying compositions of gravelly clay. The vineyards are trellised and trained to Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP), with moveable foliage wires. Mulderbosch cultivates without herbicides; and desuckering and leaf thinning is practiced where required in order to ensure optimum light penetration into the canopy to ensure even fruit ripening.