Asara Shiraz 2002
Deep purple and black colour hints towards the intense flavour profile: aromas of violets, plum and Christmas cake, following through on the palate to a spicy black pepper finish. Matured for 15 months in a combination of French and American oak.
variety : Shiraz [ Shiraz ]
winemaker : Jan van Rooyen
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 13.5 % vol rs : 2.8 g/l pH : 3.48 ta : 6.4 g/l
type : Red body : Medium taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle
AWARDS
A note from Peter Veldsman (Emily’s Restaurant):
'slight hints of tobacco on the nose, combined with savoury acid and ripe tannins; on the taste a bit of berry fruit, but thankfully not driven by it, rather smoky, sun-dried fruit; a well made wine, lingering on the palate, very food friendly'.
ageing : Drink until the end of 2007.
in the vineyard : It is with 'great expectations' that we present you this wine, our second vintage of Shiraz from the Estate. Our maiden vintage of Shiraz in 2001 was awarded a Veritas Gold medal and as mentioned earlier, we are preparing for a great future in this expressive grape variety. We have selected some excellent sites for Shiraz plantings on the lower and middle parts of the Estate. The vision for Asara Shiraz is to create a wine that expresses our vineyards in a timeless style of its own.
Age: Five years
Clone and rootstock: Sh1A / Richter 99 and Sh21A / Mgt 101-14
Rootstock: Richter 99 & Mgt 101-14
Aspect: West south west 140 to 170m above sea level
Soil type: Tukulu yellow brown gravel
Trellising: Extended double Perold
Plant spacing: 2.7m by 1.2m
about the harvest: The cool, wet weather conditions prior to the picking date of 28 February, resulted in our Shiraz ripening at a fairly even pace. There was good flavour retention and soft, ripe tannins without a high sugar level. Healthy bunches were crushed and gave a harvesting analysis of 25º Balling, 6.8g/l acidity and 3.5pH.
in the cellar : A two-day-long cold soaking of the crushed grapes preceded fermentation. We selected a South African yeast strain that enhances the varietal character of Shiraz and kept the fermentation temperature around 25ºC. Following malolactic fermentation in the tank, the wine was transferred to a special selection of oak barrels: 29% first fill (with equal proportions of French and American oak), 25% second fill and 46% third fill French barrels. After fifteen months of maturation, the wine was racked from the barrels into a tank and bulkfiltered before bottling.
Estate bottled on 22 December 2004 .
The production was 8,500 x 750 ml bottles and 1,000 x 375 ml bottles.
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