B Vintners, Methode Ancestrale, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2023

Producer Profile

In celebration of their Bruwer family heritage cousins, Bruwer Raats and Gavin Bruwer Slabbert created Bruwer Vintners Vine Exploration Company in 2014.

Their guiding mission is to craft exceptional wines showcasing their heritage, the unique terroir and, through this, create a new future for South African wine. “We’re storytellers, always eager to honour our Cape heritage and historically-linked varieties. However, there are learnings to be taken from the past too, and it is important to incorporate these lessons today in order to produce finer wine for tomorrow’s wine drinkers,” explains Gavin. The result is a range that carefully balances two realms of the winemaking spectrum. By honouring the heritage of the Cape and incorporating innovative and minimal intervention winemaking techniques, B Vintners allows the vineyard to tell the tale, expertly crafting the most honest expression of the fruit of the vine. Today, B Vintners is an award-winning, terroir-driven range that blends a bit of the past and present to bring you a taste of the future.

Viticulture

The grapes used for this wine are from their younger Pinotage vineyards, which at this stage, in their youth are perfect to produce sparkling wine in the Methode Ancestrale or Pet Nat style.

Winemaking

All grapes are handpicked into small 18kg boxes that are then stored overnight in a refrigerated cooler at 4 degree Celsius. The following morning whole bunches are loaded into the press and the juice is extracted and allowed to naturally settle in tank for 24 to 48 hours at 10 degree Celsius. The clear juice is then racked into the fermentation vessel, where spontaneous fermentation takes place at about 14 degree Celsius. When the sugars in the wine reaches the correct level, the wine is coarse-filtered and then bottled, using a crown cap as closure. The final stage of fermentation then takes place in bottle at 18 degree Celsius. The whole fermentation process takes about 8 months to complete. The wine is never disgorged, so there is a light sedimentation that occurs in the bottle, and neither is there any sulphur added to the juice or wine in the production process.

Oak Ageing

No oak ageing

Tasting Note

This sparkling wine was made using the oldest method, dating back to the 15th century, Méthode Ancestrale. No added sulphites in the wine and minimal intervention allows for maximum character. Pomegranate, fynbos and the most delicate brioche on the nose, with a mouth filling bubble burst, plenty of ageing potential whilst still giving the utmost enjoyment in its youth.

Food Matching

Best as an aperitif or with fresh fish dishes, including ceviche. Made for everyday enjoyment.