Stellenbosch Syrah

The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested in late-February and crushed into small open fermentation vats. Natural yeast fermentation. About 20% of the wine was whole-bunch fermented with its stems. 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.

We entered the 2023 growing season after a good winter dormancy with good rainfalls. The early Spring had some intermittent warm periods that led to a slightly mixed bud break and flowering which resulted in a low crop. The growing season was warm with little rain and low disease pressure. The harvest period was characterised by mild temperatures with low night-time temperatures which resulted in good natural acid levels. The low crop also contributed to good colouring and healthy bunches. Overall, this should be considered a solid, cellar-worthy vintage. is 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 structured wine.

A mix of coopers was used, mostly neutral oak, with about 20% new. After 20 months barrel maturation, the wine was bottled with no fining and filtration.