Steepside Syrah

Serve with roast meats or Moroccan lamb.

2017 was an excellent growing season on Keermont. Despite a drier than usual Winter, we had strong growth in the vineyards during the Spring time. This led to the formation of a good healthy crop which ripened evenly during the warm, dry Summer. Harvest started fairly early, but was put on hold after a heavy rainfall in late January. This rejuvenated the vines and allowed for extended ripening which definitely raised the general quality. We recorded one of our largest and healthiest crops yet and grapes came in with great analysis and concentration. Steepside yield 2017: 4.2 ton/Ha

This wine spent 20 months maturing in seasoned 225L and 500L French oak barrels before being bottled by hand without filtration.

All grapes used in producing this wine are from the Steepside vineyard. Small parcels of grapes are specifically selected according to ripeness, harvested by hand and vinified separately. Fermentation is carried out by yeast which occurs naturally on the grape skins. Red wines spend three to four weeks fermenting and macerating on the skins in small open top tanks with one or two gentle ‘punch-downs’ performed per day.

Agriculture in the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley can be traced back to 1694. In 2003 the Wraith family moved to the Western Cape from Gauteng and bought two adjacent farms. These two farms are now farmed as one Estate known as Keermont Vineyards. 2005 saw the start of a major vineyard planting programme on lands that had been fallow for a number of years. We planted 21Ha over seven years to add to an existing 8Ha of older vineyards. Our official maiden vintage was 2007 and in 2010 a spring water bottling plant on Fleurfontein was converted into a fully functional winery complete with offices tasting room processing facilities and barrel rooms.