Collection Shiraz

The grapes were picked at 25 balling early March when the pips was brown and the skins had no more bitter green tannins. Berries were crushed and cold-soaked for about 48 hours at 15°C, then inoculated with suitable yeast. The must was fermented in stainless steel tanks with aeration every 4 hours to extract all the intense colour and flavours from the skins. Fermentation took about 5 days at temperatures between 24-28°C. During maturation a touch of oak adds complexity.

These 10ha of vines were planted in 2000 on (101-14) rootstock with 2.5m x 1.2m spacing. Vines are drip-irrigated to ensure optimal ripening and trained on the 5-wire Perold trellis system. Planted on soils of weathered granite on clay, the vines are situated on NW facing slopes. The nearby Atlantic Ocean has a cooling effect on the vineyards during ripening season. Stellenbosch had another real good winter with sufficient rain and cold for the vines to rest and build up reserves before the start of bud towards September. Cool and mild weather conditions prevailed until end Feb, which pushed the start of harvest out by 14days to the norm. Vineyard stress were minimal and fewer irrigation cycles was needed. End of Feb and through Apr there were a few hot spells broken up by cool days in between. These conditions led to cultivars ripen on their own time. Harvest only finished mid-April and crop yields were normal with the later varietals (Cab/Shiraz) down by 20%. Wine quality was very good overall.