Chenin Blanc is a variety that Mick has always wanted to work with but was waiting for the right vineyard to land in his lap.  Toward the end of 2015, Mick came across the perfect site in the Polkadraai Hills, called the Karibib Vineyard.  Jozua Joubert planted the vineyard in 1982 on an east-facing block and has been working with the Cravens to bring it back to a more ‘natural’ state.  Initially trained on a single wire, it has been 'let go' over time and now grows more like a bush vine.  Mick refers to it as a "faux bush vine" vineyard.  The vineyard sits in a unique pocket is characterized by hilly topography and subsequently varying elevations, providing sites on elevations from 200 to 1,300 feet above sea level.  Aside from the differences in elevation, the layered soils vary from granite-based on the higher elevations to the lighter, more sandy soils in lower lying areas.  2018 was the last in the true ‘drought’ years and there weren’t any crazy heat spikes during the summer, thus the vine ripening crept along, albeit with very low yields. 

The grapes are hand-picked and immediately whole-bunch pressed to neutral 500L barrels, where the juice is left to ferment naturally with full solids.  It completed malolactic fermentation and is then left on the lees for approximately four months before a single racking.  In total it spent nine months in barrel before bottling.  The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with nothing added during the winemaking process apart from a dash of sulfur. 

STATS