VINTAGE 2012

Our rainfall was below average for winter,  but we experienced very cold temperatures during the last part of the season.  A cool spring with later budding lasted into mid summer.  Very little rain led to extremely warm and windy conditions in the late summer (early January) before harvest.  Meticulous canopy management together with precision irrigation and farming helped our grapes achieve full ripeness without being sun scorched or severely heat affected.  Our yield was 30.3 hectolitres per hectare.

Eisen & Viljoen 2012 has a rich, ruby red hue and initial aromas of red cherries with hints of aniseed. On the palate, ripe red cherries at the entrée lead to plum and red fruit flavours. Delicate notes of cedar together with an edge of liquorice fill the palate while a mixture of red and black berries with a touch of delicate spice and well-balanced oak lingers in the background. An elegant, complex and well balanced vintage with refined tanins on the mid-palate to compliment the fresh acidity. Memories of cigar box, roasted nuts and juicy ripe fruit remain on the aftertaste. Aged in the barrel and bottle for a total of forty six months, Eisen & Viljoen is an elegant yet complex wine of uncompromising quality.