Pale and clear. Open scent of limeflower and smoke. Crisp attack, steely and citrussy, but builds well, with pear, greengage and asparagus notes on a mineral frame. Very long. Very much a cool-climate wine. Now-2012

Product Code: CED408

The vineyards here are 1100-1150 metres up in the Cederberg mountains. Good natural rainfall, around  550-600mm, cool temperatures and occasionally snow-bound winters, with plenty of wind, mean that Cederberg enjoys a near perfect climate, in particular a long ripening period. The whites are mountain-fresh, with plentiful
natural acidity: our favourite is the Chenin Blanc, unfailingly excellent. We also offer the V Generations Chenin Blanc, a tiny production wine, and a prime example of an intensely concentrated, rich, barrel aged style.

Ever since we first started shipping from the Cape we have prized our friendship with David Nieuwoudt, one of the kindest, big-hearted, amusing and passionate winemakers we know, who took over this remarkable estate from his father in 1997. Not content with the efforts he has made at Cederberg - for example the new plantings into the hard shale slopes - he has also bought land in Elim on slate and granitic soils. He has branded his wines from there Ghost Corner, the name sailors used to give to nearby Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point of Africa. The Semillon is oaked (30% barrel fermented in French oak) and more akin to a bracing, ageworthy Hunter Valley style than white Bordeaux.