Syrah

Please note: Award stickers are applied at the producer's discretion and may not be present on all bottles.

Cool, crushed whole clusters of Syrah were placed in fermenters with 20% destemmed berries added on top. Minimal SO2 was added and, as with all our wines, no further additions were made. The must was initially pigeaged once a day. After about 4 days, fermentation began with indigenous yeasts and the cap was kept moist with one or two gentle actions per day, depending on extract and tannin development. Temperatures were kept below 28 °C. Fermentation lasted 7 to 10 days after which 3 to 7 weeks (also depending on tannin development) skin contact was given. The wine was then pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Each parcel was racked in Spring to blend the wine, which was then returned to barrel and later bottled unfiltered and unfined.

The Grapes for our 2018 Syrah come from seven sustainably farmed vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland: four parcels planted in the stony Shale and Schist based soils of the Kasteelberg; two parcels of dry-land, bush vines grown in the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg; and one on the rolling, iron-rich soils west of Malmesbury. The Vines are aged between 22 and 30 years.

Aged for 14 months in French oak 225L and 500L barrels and 2000L Foudre, 10% new.