Our grapes are hand harvested in the early morning to preserve freshness, using shallow picking crates to prevent berry bruising. They are transported in refrigerated trucks to our Franschhoek cellar and packed in a cold room to reach 5°C before pressing starts.
With minimal pressure at pressing, only the first juice is used in the Madáme. This gentle free-run juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks and a small fraction in third and fourth-fill French oak barrels. Every batch is kept separate to ensure terroir specificity. Minimal lees contact is given and malolactic fermentation is prevented during winemaking to preserve fruit purity and linear structure.
During blending, the winemaker uses different components of base wines to portray a final blend of finesse and refined structure, with excellent ageability. In our cool, dark underground cellars, Madáme is aged on the secondary fermentation lees and left undisturbed for a minimum of nine years. During ageing, the yeast hulls start to dissolve and impart typical yeasty flavours to the wine, increasing the complexity and richness.
Limited releases and constant monitoring ensure that the perfect dosage is given before the wine is closed with a cork and wire cage.