Christiena Trousseau Syrah

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

Once the grapes are harvested, they are gently crushed and moved to an open fermenter. The Shiraz juice undergoes a “cold soak” on the skins for a period of between 24 to 48 hours. For the Christiena Shiraz, Viognier skins are added and the must is fermented on these skins (as well as the skins of the Shiraz). This is an adaptation of a technique used in Cotie Rotie, a famous Shiraz producing area in the Northern Rhone in France. Viognier is a white grape but fermenting the Shiraz on the Viognier grape skins increases the aromatics as well as adding a silky texture to the Christiena Shiraz wines. Fermentation takes place at a higher temperature for red wines at between 24-25 degrees Celsius and the wine receives regular “pump overs” in order to ensure an even distribution of colour and tannins.

Weathered shale with red stoney outcrops. The top soil is deep, rich in clay and offers excellent growth potential for the Shiraz vines. The Shiraz grapes are hand harvested early in the morning to ensure that they are delivered to the winery before the hottest part of the day. The yield is low and of and of a high quality.

The entire fermentation process takes around 10 days and after the process is complete, the wine is gently racked into 300L French oak barrels (20% of which are new) and left to age in temperature controlled rooms for a period of between 15-18 months.