Technical Analysis
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot from their vineyards in Stellenbosch.
Tasting note
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine. The 2017 Bordeaux blend (90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet franc, 4% Petit Verdot) pays tribute to the pedigree of its legendary owner, May de Lencquesaing - balanced, refined and mineral. Etched with underlining fruit power, it is fresh, stylish and subtle with dense age worthy tannins and a long, tight finish.
Vintage conditions
Winter was late, but cold enough to allow dormancy of our vines. Low rainfall brought low soil moisture levels which led to managing stress in the vines later in the season via drip irrigation. Luckily spring sprung with good, even bud burst. Warm weather for the season with little to no rain. This led to smaller berries appearing and lower bunch mass. Although there were more bunches on the vines to make up the yield. The harvest was earlier than usual and larger than in previous years
Vinification details
The grapes were lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks and fermentation started with indigenous yeast and a mixture of rack-and-returns and open pump-overs. Post-fermentation skin contact lasted 2 to 3 weeks before gentle pressing and transferring into new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place. The wine stayed on its lees for a considerable period of time before racking (on average, every 4 months) and enjoyed a maturation of 24 months in new French oak barrels.
Technical Analysis
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot from their vineyards in Stellenbosch.
Tasting note
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine. The 2016 Bordeaux blend (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Cabernet franc, 6% Petit Verdot) pays tribute to the pedigree of its legendary owner, May de Lencquesaing - balanced, refined and mineral. Etched with underlining fruit power, it is fresh, stylish and subtle with dense age worthy tannins and a long, tight finish.
Vintage conditions
Winter was late, but cold enough to allow dormancy of the vines. Low rainfall brought low soil moisture levels which led to needing to managing stress in the vines later in the season. Luckily spring sprung with good, even bud burst. Warm weather, especially from the end of October to the end of January, resulted in restricted growth, smaller berries and lower bunch mass. The harvest happened a week earlier than anticipated and yield was smaller than in previous years.
Vinification details
The grapes were lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks and fermentation started with indigenous yeast and a mixture of rack-and-returns and open pump-overs. Post-fermentation skin contact lasted 2 to 3 weeks before gentle pressing and transferring into new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place. The wine stayed on its lees for a considerable period of time before racking (on average, every 4 months) and enjoyed a maturation of 24 months in new French oak barrels.
Technical Analysis
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot from their vineyards in Stellenbosch.
Tasting note
The flagship 2015 Bordeaux blend is etched with underlining fruit power. Fresh, stylish and subtle with dense age-worthy tannins and a long, tight finish.
A blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc,11% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot
Vintage conditions
A great year although a “fast” (early harvest). Thanks to sufficient cold units, full dormancy break was achieved. Bud break occurred 2 weeks early and with warmer days and cooler nights in December, the harvest was 2 weeks earlier than usual. Low pH levels and good acids characterise the harvest.
Vinification details
The grapes were lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks. The fermentation was done by natural yeast with a mixture of rack and returns and open pump overs. There follows post fermentation skin contact over 2-3 weeks and gentle pressing. Malolactic fermentation occurred in French oak barrels. The wine stayed on the lees for a long period of time before racking on average every 4 months, then matured during 24 months in new French oak barrels. During the aging, the wine is clarified with natural egg whites and bottled later.
Technical Analysis
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot from their vineyards in Stellenbosch.
Tasting note
Balanced, refined and mineral - etched with underlining fruit power. It's fresh, stylish and subtle with dense age-worthy tannins and a long, tight finish. In 2019, a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.
Vintage conditions
2014 was one of the wettest seasons in years in Stellenbosch, but wine quality was exceptional. Rain in November and January meant that less irrigation was needed, but disease pressure was higher. Fortunately ideal dry and moderate conditions reigned during ripening in late January and February, while a cooler March helped with hang time on the vine. Harvest was 1 week later than normal.
Vinification details
The grapes were lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks. Natural fermentation took place with a mixture of rack and returns and open pump-overs. Extended skin contact for 2-3 weeks was followed by a gentle pressing. Malolactic fermentation occurred in French oak barrels where the wine remained on the lees for a long period of time before racking, every 4 months on average. Matured for 24 months in new French oak barrels.
Technical Analysis
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot from their vineyards in Stellenbosch.
Tasting note
Sappy and refined with distinct minerality and etched with underlining fruit power, it is fresh, stylish and subtle with dense, ageworthy tannins and a long, tight finish. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 4% Merlot.
Vintage conditions
The 2013 harvest started two weeks later than normal. A prolonged winter into September followed by a cool spring meant a delay in bud burst by 14 days. However, cold and wet conditions helped with an even bud burst and meant the vines had enough water for the warm conditions later in the season. A warm November and moist soils lead to dense canopies which meant greater management was needed. Due to a warm dry December later cultivars ripened earlier and the earlier cultivars later, which lead to pressure in the cellar.
Vinification details
The grapes were lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks. Natural fermentation took place with a mixture of rack and returns and open pump-overs. Extended skin contact for 2-3 weeks was followed by a gentle pressing. Malolactic fermentation occurred in French oak barrels where the wine remained on the lees for a long period of time before racking, every 4 months on average. Matured for 24 months in new French oak barrels.
Technical Analysis
Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot from their vineyards in Stellenbosch.
Tasting note
Elegant and complex, fresh and vibrant, the wine develops flavours of cassis, blackcurrant, dark cherry and delicate spicy plum, flavours specific to Glenelly’s terroir. Deeply coloured and perfectly balanced, it displays excellent structure with velvety tannins and a very good ageing capability of up to 15-18 years. 89% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Petit Verdot; 1% Cabernet Franc.
Vintage conditions
A very dry season with cool conditions during ripening, winter in 2011 was dry but cold. Bud burst was very even, occurring 7 days earlier than usual. Low spring temperatures lead to slow shoot growth, while rain during flowering resulted in weak set and loose bunches and increased disease pressure. Favourable, cool conditions dominated from pea bud to veraison, while a temperature spike during ripening put the vines under water stress. Harvest was one week ahead, but finished a day early.
Vinification details
The grapes were hand harvested, then lightly crushed into stainless steel tanks for fermentation with natural yeasts using a mixture of rack and returns and open pump overs. Malolactic fermentation occurred in French oak barrels where the wine stayed on the lees for a long period of time before racking on average every four months. Matured for 24 months in new French oak barrels.
