The Vineyards
Remhoogte has 30 ha under vines at the moment with potential to plant a further 12 ha. It is planted predominantly to the noble red varieties; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and more recently, Shiraz. The heavy clay soils and very steep south and west facing slopes are excellent terroir for these varieties.

The vineyards have been extensively replanted over the past ten years, but some of the older vineyards have been retained with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards of up to twenty years. There is drip irrigation on all the vines in case of very dry conditions.

The vineyards are tended by seven families who live on the property. All pruning, succoring, picking and sorting of grapes is done by hand. Great attention is paid to canopy management and crop yield, and tonnages range from 5 to 7 tonnes per hectare.
Only half of the grapes produced are used in the Remhoogte cellar, the remainder being sold under contract to a nearby winery.

Cellar Practices
The partnership formed with Michel Rolland has added a new dimension to the wines produced. The cellar was enlarged and new 7000 litre French oak fermenters imported from France.

Meticulous cellar practices are followed. All the grapes are hand sorted before and after destemming. The fermentation is slow using natural yeasts. The wines are pigeaged four times a day during fermentation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in 225 litre French oak barrels. New wood of up to 100% is used each year and the wines are aged in the barrels from 12 to 18 months.

Wine Information
2001 was the last year in which single varietal wines were produced, the Remhoogte Merlot 2001 and Remhoogte Cabernet Sauvignon 2001. There are still some of these wines are still available.

Visit Remhoogte Estates on the web :: http://www.remhoogte.co.za