Cyril Back Shiraz

Gorgeous with grilled lamb or grass fed beef, and strong hard cheeses such as cheddar or a mellow blue.

The fruit for the Cyril Back 2020 is selected from our best sites of the vintage. The Shiraz for this vintage was selected from a dryland, bushvine Swartland vineyard and a cool Darling site. A small backbone of Darling Cabernet Sauvignon was also selected (only 1 barrel). The vineyards are regularly visited during the ripening period and tested by tasting, visual and analytical examination to determine the ideal picking date.

Once completed, the wine was racked and returned for barrel aging in a selection of new, second and third fill French oak barrels. After 22 months in barrel the Cyril Back selection is made from the best of the vintage exhibiting purity of fruit, expression of origin and age worthy structure. Only 6 barrels of which 66% new selected for the final blend, assembled in Dec 2021 and aged as a blend for a further 2 months. The wine was bottled in early Feb 2022, un-fined, with a very light filtration.

All the fruit was handpicked at 24.5-25 degrees balling. The grapes were hand sorted and fermented in foudres. The grapes from the different vineyard sites were fermented as separate batches in open oak fermenters (foudres), with fermentation allowed to start naturally. Manual punch downs (pigeage) done twice a day. After alcohol fermentation a few extra days on the skins allowed for extract in the wines, with daily tasting to determine pressing dates. The skins were gently basket pressed and the wine aged in French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation.

First and foremost Fairview is a working farm housing a collection of micro-businesses all sharing in a common goal – to create artisanal and sustainable produce with a focus on fine wine and cheese. We’ve been caring custodians of our land since 1693 and invite you to come and visit us and see for yourself how our farm operates supports the environment and contributes to a more holistic lifestyle. Everything we do is driven by our philosophy of being honest honouring our heritage and ensuring that ingenuity perpetually flows from our soils and cellars and straight into the heart of your relationship with us. After all at Fairview we do things differently.