Snakes & Ladders 2023

Thorne & Daughters, teknisk ark/fact sheet (thorneanddaughters.com – linket fra thorneanddaughters.com, hentet 2026-10-18): 2023 Thorne & Daughters Snakes & Ladders; druer: Sauvignon Blanc; alkohol 14.7%. Producentens noter (engelsk): About the wine: THE W INE The Skurf berg remains one of the most challengingly water scarce areas that we work with, and the 2023 growing season remained very dry, though little did we know how much rain would fall later in the year. We are continuously impressed with the vines’ ability to survive and thrive in these extreme conditions. The ripening period was mercifully moderate (this is relative up here) and we were able to pick a decent crop at very solid ripeness levels. We have been slowly expanding the number of blocks that we have access to up in the Skurf berg and the 2023 wine now includes portions from the van Lill’s Arbeidsend, the Visser’s Oudam and a small amount from the Laing’s. Each is varying in power and intensity but Oudam and Laing are particularly concentrated and ripe. 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 luminous wines in barrel. I’m continually delighted to see the kind of complexity and textu re 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, eschewing primary fruit 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 ju ice is then wild-fermented in a mix of 225 and 300 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. Th o r n e & D a u g h t e r s hello@thorneanddaughters.com • www.thorneanddaughters.com Raising our handcrafted wines along with our two Daughters