Celestina Agulhas White 2023

Caroline Rillema, well known wine retailer in Cape Town since 1997, owns a small 3.5 ha farm in Baardskeerdersbos, near Elim in the Agulhas Wine Triangle. She and her husband Ray were pioneers in Baardskeerdersbos when they  planted their vineyard in 2004 – only 1.86 Ha comprising Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. They do the annual viticulture, and recently built a beautiful boutique winery of their own. Here, Caroline makes the wine, the fulfilment of a long-held dream for her.

Celestina means ‘little celestial one’, referring to the splendid stars in the milky way which hang like jewels above the earth on which these vines are grown. Breezes from the sea, only ten kilometres away, cool the vineyard down at night, enabling the vines to draw energy again for the day ahead. The soils are a mixture of koffieklip, white quartz, loam and gravel.

Only 1350 bottles were made of this, the first vintage made at Caroline’s home cellar. One ton of Sauvignon Blanc was fermented and matured in a seasoned 500L French oak barrel and one ton of Semillon was fermented in a 600L Manetti Tuscan amphora, which was topped up with Sauvignon Blanc during the twelve month maturation period leading up to bottling in January 2024.