Shiraz

Excellent with red meat dishes like gilled sirloin or braised lamb shank with rosemary and cracked black pepper, it also pairs well with artisanal cheese and charcuterie boards or duck liver parfait served with berry compote.

The 2022 vintage was characterized by warm, sunny days and cool evenings, creating favourable conditions for gradual ripening. This resulted in well developed, ripe tannins and concentrated fruit expression. The grapes for this wine came from vineyards planted in decomposed Table Mountain sandstone with clay under-layer on a north westerly slope, situated some 200m above sea level. The vines are trellised on a seven-wire trellising system and produced an average of 8 tonnes per hectare.

After malolactic fermentation, the wine was matured for 14-16 months, using a combination of first, second and third fill French oak barrels.

The grapes were hand-harvested at 25 Balling in early March. Following destalking and crushing, fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks at controlled temperatures of 25–27°C, with a total maceration period of 10 days on the skins. 10% of the blend was whole bunch fermented separately and blended back to the final wine. Pump-overs were conducted regularly to ensure optimal extraction.

Alto is a historic Stellenbosch wine estate dedicated exclusively to red wine, with vineyards planted on the elevated slopes of the Helderberg since 1919. Best known for Cabernet Sauvignon and its classic red blends, Alto has built a century-long reputation for structured, full-bodied South African reds with impressive ageing potential.