Stellenbosch Syrah

The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested in late-February and crushed into small open fermentation vats. Natural yeast fermentation. About 10% of the wine was whole-bunch fermented with its stems. We also co-fermented small lots with Roussanne and Viognier. The Roussanne adds a very finely textured tannin and the Viognier elegant floral notes. Regular, vigorous punchdowns were given every 4 hours for the first half of fermentation, then every 8 hours thereafter. At dryness (average 7-10 days), it was racked directly to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation and subsequent barrel maturation.

This is a blend from 3 different vineyard blocks at different elevations on our Jonkershoek Valley farm. The higher elevation vineyards have a finely textured decomposed granite soil and tend to produce a more elegant wine with softer tannins, while the lower vineyard is very rocky and gives a denser, fruitier, more tannic wine.

A mix of coopers was used, all French oak, all 300-litre, mostly 2nd, 3rd and 4th-fill (about 10% new). After 22 months barrel maturation, the wine was bottled with no fining and filtration.