Gabrielskloof Landscape Series Elodie Chenin Blanc 2024

The Landscape Series is a range of six wines that showcase our finest vineyard sites, together with some special old vine treasures and aims to give an honest representation of the elements that make them unique. We wanted the labels to reflect this approach and commissioned artist Rod Freemantle to capture the spirit of these landscapes. He painted each label using pigments he created by grinding rocks from the vineyards where these grapes were grown, mixing them with natural binders to create earth-based paints. Each label literally contains the ground beneath the vines—a true representation of the diverse landscapes that shape these wines.

VINEYARD NOTES

The 2024 vintage was marked by a wet winter and spring, fostering vigorous vineyard growth, while challenging weather during flowering resulted in lower yields. Grapes were sourced from two distinct dryland Swartland bushvine blocks. Thirty per cent of the fruit came from the Jakkalsfontein vineyard, known for its granite soils and vines planted in 1986. The remaining 70% hailed from Nuweland, characterized by its iron-rich soils and vines planted in 1981.

WINEMAKING

All fruit was whole bunch pressed and 100% wild fermented. Fermented and matured in older 400-and 500L barrels. The wine spent nine months on its lees before blending and bottling.

TASTING NOTE

A generous vintage showing an array of orchard fruits, citrus and thatch aromatics that lead into a densely flavoursome palate. The core of apricot, wild honey and lemon rind meld with an oatmeal-like roundness towards a long finish that is given tension by a crunchy apple-skin texture.