Wildeberg Amphora Semillon

The Earths mantle thrusts up above the gentle town of Franschhoek, a wild slice of untamed mountain on which sits a farm named Wildeberg. An established wine region for some 350 years, sensible generations never thought to plant a vine here until a happy band of idealists recently craned their necks up at this hillside and, dizzy with hope, decided to give it a go. Franschhoek is on the very edge of the south-eastern corner of the Capes venerable Coastal Region, indeed Wildebergs property border runs over the top of the mountain where the Coastal Region gives way to the baboon-strewn road to Grabouw and the wider Western Cape.

The Wildeberg wines express the most captivating Franschhoek Valley fruit. In our Wildeberg Terroirs bottlings we look beyond our home to a clutch of exceptional sites of other origin.

A mountain rich in metaphor with the visual heft to flatter any wine, releases of Wildeberg and Terroirs express our continued purpose " exceptional wines of place, however humble the origin. If the abiding memory of our wines remains a textural sense of place then we are portraying the Cape as hoped.

Wildeberg is a 144ha wine farm set against the backdrop of the dramatic Franschhoek mountains, on the very edge of viticultural possibilities. To farm here you have to be in tune with nature, respecting the earth and the elements, creating wines which truly express the terroir with minimal intervention.

This special area is home to 4 endangered Fynbos species, and a key mission of Wildeberg is to conserve this vegetation type as they are critical to the biodiversity of the Western Cape. This work entails clearing invasive alien trees which can overwhelm the Fynbos and contribute to the threat of forest fires. Fynbos covered mountains like those at Wildeberg are thought to be responsible for delivering one glass of water in five in South Africa, due to the plants allowing up to 80% of rainwater to run off into rivers and reservoirs rather than being absorbed into the soil.
Water is precious in South Africa, and waste water from the winery passes through a natural wetland with indigenous reeds and plants before being pumped into our irrigation dam. We then use this water to irrigate the vines.

All Wildeberg wines are certified as part of South Africas sustainability accreditation, the 'Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) system. The IPW scheme, started in 1998, consists of a set of audited guidelines specifying agricultural practices, manufacturing practices and bottling activities.

Wildeberg is also a proud member of the Capes Old Vine Project (OVP), which preserves blocks of vines which are 35 years and older. The project encourages producers to farm as close to nature as possible whilst raising awareness of the inherent potential of old vines to produce outstanding and expressive wines.

Semillon,

The wine is matured for 9 months on gross lees, with battonage once a month, in 750l Italian Tava amphora. We’ve given the first vintage, 2023, a year in bottle to knit together before release.

An opening pithy lime salvo is followed up with spicy ginger notes with the battonage adding to a generous, mouth filling texture and nicely complementing the innate refined acidity on offer.

This is a lovely pairing for paella, risotto, Chinese style salt & pepper chicken or a simple chicken roast.

Nolan - Text from the Spotlight On The White Wines of South Africa blog.

Bordeaux grape varieties have always been popular in South Africa’s Western Cape. On the red side, Cabernet Sauvignon is famous from Stellenbosch, Merlot is also widely grown and used as both a mono-varietal and also as a blending partner. White wise, Sauvignon Blanc is an ever-popular Bordeaux staple that does very well in South Africa, Semillon on the other hand is a lesser seen varietal that often slips under the drinkers radar.

Wildeberg, another member of the South African “Old Vine Project” are situated in Franschhoek which translates to the “French corner”, and it is here that a large number of French Huguenots settled in the 1600’s. The Huguenots were Protestant’s, fleeing religious persecution and finding respite in this zone of South Africa. Being French, they brought with them vines and the knowhow to make the wine that every Frenchman needs flowing though his veins.

Here is a little snippet from Wildeberg on their sustainable efforts:

“Wildeberg is a 144ha wine farm set against the backdrop of the dramatic Franschhoek mountains, on the very edge of viticultural possibilities. To farm here you have to be in tune with nature, respecting the earth and the elements, creating wines which truly express the terroir with minimal intervention.

This special area is home to 4 endangered Fynbos species, and a key mission of Wildeberg is to conserve this vegetation type as they are critical to the biodiversity of the Western Cape. This work entails clearing invasive alien trees which can overwhelm the Fynbos and contribute to the threat of forest fires. Fynbos covered mountains like those at Wildeberg are thought to be responsible for delivering one glass of water in five in South Africa, due to the plants allowing up to 80% of rainwater to run off into rivers and reservoirs rather than being absorbed into the soil.
Water is precious in South Africa, and waste water from the winery passes through a natural wetland with indigenous reeds and plants before being pumped into our irrigation dam. We then use this water to irrigate the vines.

All Wildeberg wines are certified as part of South Africa's sustainability accreditation, the 'Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) system. The IPW scheme, started in 1998, consists of a set of audited guidelines specifying agricultural practices, manufacturing practices and bottling activities.”

Now for the wine itself. This is produced from Semillon vines planted way back in 1905, Queen Victoria had only been in the ground for four years and Norway was only just getting its independence from Sweden. This was the same year that Albert Einstein published his groundbreaking "miracle year" papers introducing the theory of special relativity and the mass-energy equivalence formula, E = mc². In essence, these are bloody old vines!

The grapes themselves are treated gently and are of course, hand harvested before being fermented and matured for 9 months on gross lees, with battonage once a month, in 750l Italian Tava amphora. Amphora are clay pots, similar to but smaller than the Georgian Qvervi, (k-way-vree), the ancient Romans and Greeks used to love them. Aging wine in clay amphorae allows for pure, unmasked terroir expression and rich textures. The porous clay provides controlled micro-oxygenation to soften tannins, while remaining entirely neutral so the wine retains its natural fruit and earthy minerality without picking up oak flavours.

The end result is a pithy lime salvo, followed up with spicy ginger notes. The battonage adds to an already generous, mouth filling texture and nicely complements the innate refined acidity on offer. I do love the texture of this wine, Semillon has a wonderful natural texture with an almost waxiness to it, I always find that wines aged in clay Amphora or qvevri always have almost a feeling of terracotta to them in the mouth. Interesting stuff!

Get this with some Asian food, miso salmon noodles or some Chinese salt and pepper chicken.