Shiraz (DNP)

Will complement venison bourguignon, ribeye steak with black pepper sauce, duck breast with beetroot risotto, or baked ham with char-grilled fruit.

On the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain between the wine-growing areas of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. Klapmuts/Longlands type soils of Malmesbury shale origin as well as Oakleaf and Tukulu type soils of Cape granite origin.

After malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked and then returned to the barrels to total 18 months of barrel maturation.

Fermentation took place on the skins for about seven days, after which it was given an extended maceration period of about one week. The wine was then pressed into a combination of 50% new and 50% second-fill 300-litre French oak barrels.

Babylonstoren is one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms, set at the foot of Simonberg in the Franschhoek wine valley. It has a fruit and vegetable garden of beauty and diversity, unique accommodation, fine food and wine, and evokes a sense of wellbeing. Our wines are produced in a state-of-the-art winery and are made to showcase the soils and climate where their grapes are grown. The Tasting Room sits adjacent to the Wine Cellar, offering views of the conical Babylonstoren hill, Simonsberg and the Banghoek Mountains. We have about 94 hectares (232 acres) under vine and produce 13 different grape varieties, with our highest vines – pinot noir and chardonnay – lying against Simonsberg at some 600 metres above sea level. Led by cellar master Charl Coetzee and winemaker Klaas Stoffberg, the farm’s 2011 harvest led to the first bottling of wine under the Babylonstoren label.