Kloof Street Swartland Rouge

Grapes are chilled in our cold room, where after they are destemmed to tank and around 25% whole bunches are added. Minimal SO2 is added and, as with all our wines, no other additions are made. The must is initially pigeaged once a day. After about 4 days, fermentation begins with indigenous yeasts, and the wine is pigeaged once or twice a day.

Grapes for our 2018 Kloof Street red come from eight sustainably farmed vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland, aged 12-40 years: Two parcels of Syrah and one parcel of Cinsault in the stony Shale and Schist based soils of Kasteelberg; and one parcel of dry land, bushvine Syrah, one Carignan, one Grenache and a single parcel of gnarly old dry farmed Tinta Barocca bush vine, all in the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg, and one parcel of Mourvèdre grown on the rolling, iron-rich soils west of Malmesbury.

Temperatures are not allowed to exceed 28°C. Total maceration is between 4 to 6 weeks. The wine is then drained and pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation. The different parcels are racked in Spring to blend the wine, which is then returned to barrel.