Snakes & Ladders 2024
Sauvignon blanc
Tasting Notes
The vineyards for Snakes & Ladders are far north on the Atlantic west coast of the Cape, perched on the escarpment between the Atlantic coastal plain and the Olifantsrivier valley. This is a wild and pure landscape. The wine’s name is inspired by the extremes of this climate and the highs and lows of farming it. Deep red sandy soils and cool Atlantic breezes temper an otherwise unforgiving climate.
This is an incomparable appellation for Sauvignon blanc and one in which we feel texture, structure and complexity are key to the wines from here. We vinify the wines with respect for the wild places where they are grown. Wild yeast ferment, old French oak barrels and a light touch in the cellar allow a very pure expression of the terroir.
Blackcurrant leaf, hay and marzipan vie with exotic tropical fruit tones to form an intensely complex nose. The palate is powerful and poised with gooseberry and prickly pear cut by saline acidity.
Nuts & Bolts
Sauvignon blanc – Olifantsrivier - 26-30 year old vineyards on decomposed Table Mountain sandstone soils over clay and alluvial deposits
Residual sugar – 2.6 g/L
Total acidity – 5.9 g/L
pH 3.29
About The Wine
Lots of rain fell during the latter part of 2023. It was really heartening to see old springs on Oudam gushing water after so many dry years. January 2024 was a completely different story and we kicked off with an incredibly hot and dry month that pushed our early varietal picks forward by a week or so.
The 2024 picks at Arbeidsend, Oudam and Rietvallei were challenging due to the heat and the speed that we had to get grapes off. Yields were moderate and we definitely felt the influence of colder, wetter weather during f lowering. That said, I think we did a great job getting to everything just in time and 2024 has produced some outstanding wines. The grapes skins were very thick and full of f lavour which has translated into a big concentration of aromatics and texture in the wines.
This is a “region of compulsion” for me as I just can’t turn down the opportunity to work with grapes from this area. I think compulsion is what allows me to push through the work of sourcing grapes from this remote area. It remains logistically challenging, but those long harvest days fade away as we assess the wines in barrel. I’m continually delighted to see the kind of complexity and texture that Sauvignon blanc can deliver on the right sites, showing itself to be one of the World’s classic grape varieties.
We have stuck to our winemaking basics here, leaving primary fruit behind in favour of the deeper characteristics of the wines. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed in our old Vaslin basket press with no SO2 or other additions. The juice is then wild-fermented in a mix of 225, 300 and 500 litre old oak barrels where the wines remain on their gross lees for 9-10 months before blending and bottling. We favour malolactic fermentation over early additions of sulphur dioxide, and the wines only see a first addition of SO2 in the early winter. We are looking for wines that show tension without losing their suppleness and core, and wines that will reward time in the cellar.