Clonal Selection Elgin Syrah

This Syrah pairs well with grilled lamb chops, lamb shawarma, Greek gyros with tzatziki, charcoal-grilled pork shoulder with fresh herbs and garlic, and pork with black bean chili. Its fruitiness balances the heat in spicy dishes, while its acidity complements rich meats.

Grapes are sourced from five small parcels in the Elgin Valley, South Africa's coolest wine region. The vineyards are planted with Syrah clones SH9c and SH22, selected for their suitability to the cool climate and specific soil types of the region.

The wine underwent 17 months of maturation in French oak barrels sourced from selected artisanal coopers in Burgundy and the Rhône. Each clone and soil type was micro-vinified as separate batches, utilizing an algorithm developed to determine the optimal combination of coopers and the proportion of new and used barrels.

Grapes were handpicked into small lug baskets and manually sorted before destemming. A 3-day maceration preceded spontaneous fermentation in small open-topped fermenters. Gentle pigeage was employed, and the wine remained on skins for 17–21 days. After fermentation, the wine was racked to Burgundian and Rhône barrels under gravity, with the remaining pomace basket-pressed. Malolactic fermentation occurred in barrel, followed by a light sulphuring. No fining or filtration was applied.

“Our commitment is to make the best wines possible from the vine clones best suited to our unique terroir. Our grapes are grown in the cool climate vineyards of Elgin in the Western Cape of South Africa. We produce only a very limited number of cases of Kershaw Elgin Chardonnay and Kershaw Elgin Syrah each vintage. Our aim always is to produce some of the best wines of their style in South Africa.” - Richard Kershaw