Media release
February 2007

Second Anwilka vintage released

Located just 7 kilometres from the ocean in Stellenbosch's prime Helderberg region, the vineyards of Anwilka were purchased by Lowell Jooste, co-owner of Klein Constantia Estate, in 1997. Under the guidance of Stellenbosch viticultural consultant Johan Wiese, farm manager Piet Neethling has replanted a total of 40ha of vineyards since 1998, comprising cabernet sauvignon (58 per cent by area), shiraz (24 per cent), and merlot (18 per cent).

The vineyard and its wine are now a co-venture of Jooste and internationally well-known Bordeaux wine personalities Bruno Prats (former owner of Château Cos-d'Estournel) and Hubert de Boüard de Laforest (co-proprietor of Château Angélus). Prats successfully directed Cos-d'Estournel, the leading Médoc 2nd growth, for 28 years; and under de Boüard, Angélus achieved St-Émilion first-growth status. Klein Constantia, with its historical pedigree, has gained greater international recognition under Jooste's management.

Last year saw the release of the Anwilka's maiden 2005 vintage - 3500 (x12) cases of cabernet-shiraz blend. Skillful vineyard management has permitted an increase in production of the 2006 vintage to 4,500 cases. Stringent selection ensures that only the best vineyard blocks are utilised, with just 13.6 of the property's 40 hectares supplying grapes for the Anwilka label in the 2006 vintage. This vintage also sees the introduction of 5% merlot, with cabernet sauvignon rising to 66%, with syrah making up the remaining 29%.

Anwilka is made by young South African winemaker Trizanne Pansegrouw under the close direction of experienced oenologists Prats and de Boüard, who are also involved in the blending process.

Vineyards & winemaking

Stellenbosch is recognised as the Cape's premium red wine producing district. The significant maritime influence in the Helderberg region of Stellenbosch enables exceptional fruit quality.

Prior to the replanting of the farm in 1998, the matching of grape varieties to specific sites was carefully considered. Soils are of moderate potential, allowing low vine vigour and consistently healthy vines. A gentle slope assisting drainage during the winter rains. Minimal irrigation is used, and good water retention capacity avoids excessive hydric stress.

While meticulous canopy management reduces yields, crops are further reduced by green harvesting (where just two bunches are left on each spur) further reducing yields to an average 6 tons/ha (approx. 35-40hl/ha).
Grapes are harvested in small crates and sorted before being de-stemmed and gravity-fed to small basket presses. 7000-litre temperature-controlled tronconical tanks allow precise vineyard block vinification. The conical shape of these tanks helps to break the cap during rack and returns, optimising contact between it and the fermenting must.

Prats and de Boüard visit during harvest to oversee winemaking. Their prescribed techniques of extended pump-overs and maceration are used, ensuring gentle extraction of ripe polyphenols. Close attention is paid to the date of harvest of each vineyard block, with each resulting tank being treated individually.

International distribution model

As with the maiden 2005 vintage, ten per cent of the release will be retained for the South African market, while the remainder will be released directly into the Bordeaux market.

Prestige wine lists around the world have traditionally been French-dominated. Although this is now changing, with representation from the rest of world increasingly common, South African producers still find it difficult to secure key foreign accounts and listings for their wines. The Anwilka co-venture addresses this problem by releasing the wine directly into the Bordeaux trade for international distribution, an opportunity open to it through the involvement of the French partners. Jooste feels keenly that the more local wines there are breaking into this market, the better for the South African wine industry as a whole.

In terms of product, clientele, and the size and capitalisation of its 400 wine shippers, the Bordeaux wine trade is very diverse. However, just 40 firms are responsible for 80 per cent of annual turnover. The Bordeaux trade currently has relationships with nearly every prestige account around the world, and the négociants who handle Anwilka are top-end specialists dealing mainly with markets that take the most expensive Bordeaux wines. A consequence of their noting that the market cleared the 2005 vintage very quickly, is that the 2006 vintage is fully subscribed by négociants confident of being able to sell their allocations of Anwilka on.

Very few non-Bordeaux wines have the distinction of being distributed in this unique way. Anwilka joins California's Opus One, the Mouton-Rothschild/Robert Mondavi co-venture, Almaviva, the Mouton-Rothschild/Concha Y Toro co-creation from Chile, and Chryseia, the Bruno Prats/Symington top offering from Portugal. Prats notes that although the mass market is vulnerable to surplus pricing, the upper end of the market is consistently buoyant, with affluent wine drinkers willing to spend money on the best international wines.

The Anwilka co-venture represents not only a model investment in the South African wine industry, but also a vote of confidence by seasoned global wine personalities in South Africa's ability to produce world-class wines which can sit comfortably among the best.

ENDS
Issued by: Lowell Jooste for Anwilka Vineyard
Cell: 082-4413721
lowell@anwilka.com
www.anwilka.com