Under the sea

Following the fascinating experiment into the benefits of ageing bottled Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc in the sea versus on land in the cellar, the team at Southern Right decided to repeat the experiment this year (the 2004 vintage was taken out of the Walker Bay waters on 16 September 2010).

We were very fortunate to have received 180 of these bottles last year and they sold out in a few days at R60 per bottle.  We have kept a couple of these bottles for ourselves and they are currently on display in the shop, but not for sale.

On August 3^rd, 2011, the second consignment of Southern Right Sauvignon blanc was floated out into the cold Walker Bay waters and sunk in approximately 10 meters of water. This time they have submerged two vintages – 200 bottles each of the 2010 and 2011. They have sealed each vintage with a wax capsule of a different colour, to avoid confusing the vintage with barnacle and seaweed encrusted bottles and to minimize the risk of seawater getting around the cork.

With this trial they will be able to determine (with the 2011) the possible benefits of submerging the wine immediately after bottling. Having two vintages ageing together will help get an idea if different vintages react differently to sea ageing versus land ageing.

Both vintages will be tasted once a year and compared to the same vintages ageing in our cellar. All the wine will be raised from the sea for sale in local restaurants (barnacles, seaweed and all) in September 2016.

We hope you will get a chance to taste the wines then!