Tale of the biking dog
We went through some photos and videos we had taken during our last trip to South Africa and I came across Charlie, the Hell`s Angel of Springfield winery!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8pENI5_NzI[/embedyt]
When Arbie Brewer inspects the vineyard he is often accompanied by Charlie, the dog of his daughter. Fearlessly he jumps on the bike and loves the wind in his face. What a site!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyRWFMcskg[/embedyt]
Seeing the video made the choice of my evening wine easier
Work of Time
From Springfield, of course!
Already the wine's name puts focus on something that has become precious and scarce in todays winemaking world: TIME
Todays economic pressures force wineries to find the fastest way to bring a wine to market, with the result that even good wines are drunk too early. Not with the Bruwers.
Click on the bottle and read more about the wines from Springfield Estate
Springfield Estate is a family-run wine farm owned by ninth-generation descendants of French Huguenots, who came to South Africa from the Loire in 1688 with literally bundles of vines under their arms. Today the farm is run by Jeannett, who is the face to the customer and her brother Arbie Bruwer who is the vini- and viticulturist meaning he overseas the whole process from planting to bottling.
Click on the bottle and read more about Springfield Estate
Arbie's philosophy is to produce wine as naturally as possible. He keeps the process direct and uncomplicated – the wine is left to make itself, as was done centuries ago. This allows for an honest expression of the estate’s terroir which is quite diverse ranging from quartz, granite limestone to sandy loam soil at the riverbanks, similar to that of Burgundy and Sancerre. The diversity of terroir is the reason why they are able to grow such a variety of grapes on one farm.
“I believe that a good farmer is an observant one. You can use all sorts of fancy machines to tell us how much water is in the soil, but at the end of the day you need to look at the vine, see if it is under stress, and act accordingly.“ he states. „At Springfield we would rather intervene in the vineyard than in the cellar. Good wine is grown, not made.“ is another of his catching statements.
Most of the wines are fermented using natural wild yeasts found on the grape skins – high-risk winemaking that leads to lost vintages every few years.
Jeannette asked me once if I knew of a big fish and chips shop, because she had quite a few barrels of vinegar to sell!
The cellar dates back to 1902 and is geared towards a back-to-basics and minimum manipulation approach to winemaking. The basic philosophy of minimal intervention is followed throughout the wine making process. No pumps, crushers or presses are used in the red wine cellar; instead, grapes are transported using a gravity flow system and fermented whole, to limit any spoilage or damage to the delicate berry. Arbie believes that sterile filtering results in the best part of wine ending on the cellar floor.
“Work of time is a classical Bordeaux Blend of Cabernet Franc 43%, Cabernet Sauvignon 24 % ,Merlot 19% and Petit Verdot 14%.
The grapes were fermented whole with native yeasts (true to our ancient custom) and left for 5 weeks on their skins. A slow 2 years of barrel maturation followed and a further 4 years of bottle maturation. Finally, we released this wine rich, classic and complex from age – of vines and wine. The wine is then bottled unfiltered and unfined as Arbie believes that sterile filtering results in the best part of wine ending up on the cellar floor.
A Work Of Time
Dark red colour in the glass, with black fruit, some earthiness even a hint of mushroom on the nose.
On the palate concentrated aromas of ripe black berries, plums and chocolate with slight spicy notes.
The balanced tannins that developed make it ready to drink or to keep for another 10 years or the right wine for the upcoming festive season.
€23 per bottle
