Blueprint Syrah

Enjoy with slow roasted pork belly or a mild North Indian vegetable curry.

Mostly from the neighbouring Keermont vineyard. A north east facing block. 21yr old vines on a vertical trellis, clone SH9 on 101.14 rootstock. Soil deep red Hutton, medium potential, decomposed granite. Yield 6 tons / ha (39 hl/ha). A little from two other younger Keermont blocks: "Steepside", similar to above decomposed granite hillside vineyard and "Sweetwater," a stony alluvial soil that delivers a little lighter, but lovely aromatic aspect. Winter rainfall was higher than previous two vintages, but about average and slightly warmer than average. Bud break was rather uneven and required additional attention to foliage management during the growing period. A relatively cool wet spring, which continued throughout much of the growing season. The high fungal pressure required adhering diligently to a suitable spray programme throughout the season. Regular rainfall and low day and night temperatures during the ripening period meant there was no water stress and ripening was gentle and slow. A challenging, but exciting vintage with good acidity and a more elegant style. Harvest date: 11/2/19 to 6/3/19 @ 21,8 – 23,2 balling

20 months maturation in old barrels. Bottled by hand unfined (Vegan) and unfiltered.

Handpicking into 20 kg crates. Destemming and lightly crushed directly into small open top fermentation tanks. 10% whole bunches included. Spontaneous fermentation @ max. 30deg. with the cap of skins punched down manually twice a day for an average of 16 days. Wine drained directly to barrels together with single pressing from basket press. Malolactic fermentation in the barrel.

A small family winery at the end of the Upper Blaauwklippen Road in the mountains above Stellenbosch South Africa. Established in 1992 by architect David Trafford & artist wife Rita with the focus on high end red wines of great intensity & longevity using minimal intervention production methods.