Darling Cellars 2021 Harvest Report

Thanks to good winter rains and a rather mild summer, the grapes have had ample hang time on the vines to gradually achieve ripeness and the wines are definitely going to be better for it. The harvest has been quite good.

The quality of the white grapes received, is outstanding with the sauvignon blanc showing a good balance of tropical and some greener characteristics.  The chenin blanc presented with ripe yellow fruit, white apple and hints of guava flavours. The juice so far has been deliciously concentrated and beautifully balanced and the new wines are very elegant.

The 2021 vintage continued to present an array of tricky harvest decisions, requiring patience while we had to wait for the red grapes to achieve perfect ripeness. The sugars just seemed to stay low and there were not much sugars above 26°Balling. What is interesting is that the grapes seemed to have reached phenolic ripeness, although °Balling was lower. Currently the red wines are looking good with great fruit, deep colour and elegant finishes. Durif, Malbec, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are outstanding in terms of quality and there are a few very exciting wines in the cellars that will age beautifully.

In addition to the above, the 2021 harvest was also exciting because for the first time we have fermented a Chenin Blanc in an Amphora. This wine is showing huge potential and we are gladly looking forward to the wine being bottled.

We are excited to monitor the development of the 2021 wines in the cellar and look forward to sharing them with you when they are ready. Thank you for your continued support, messages and visits.