Coterie Semillon & Sauvignon 2021

JD Rossouw was destined to be a winemaker even before he was born. While pregnant, his mother was already helping with winemaking in their family cellar, enriching JD's senses with the captivating world of wine. He always wanted to be a winemaker, and everything happened naturally as he helped his father at the estate and then studied winemaking at Stellenbosch University. "For me, wine is made in the vineyards, and I am here to guide it to the bottle with limited intervention, keeping it pure and authentic. Wildeberg is incredible. It is an inspiring place, and the love of nature and wilderness shines through clearly in the wines."

This cuvée is made according to the fundamental principles of the estate: minimal intervention winemaking, indigenous fermentation to capture the essence of the vineyards and soils. The Sémillon is fermented in 600-liter French and Austrian oak barrels, then aged for 10 months in barrels. The Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in stainless steel tanks and kept on its gross lees for 10 months. Once the blend is decided, the wine is left in tanks for 6 weeks before coarse filtration and bottling. On the palate, this wine reveals notes of lemongrass, ripe apple, pear, quince, candied lemon, hay, fresh butter, marzipan, anise, and oyster shells. The palate is full and round, perfectly contrasted by the acidity. The finish ends with pleasant bitterness.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.