Colour: Intense, rich ruby with purple tinge.
Bouquet: The nose shows a fine integration of pepper, spice, herbs well supported by an array of fruity aromas.
Taste: Firm and full on the palate, yet soft and succulent on the follow through. Excellent structure maintained through good fruit well integrated with wood.
An ideal companion to game, veal and grilled linefish.
in the vineyard : Since 1990, the cellar has produced a remarkable number of champion wines. The Shiraz (from grapes planted in 1987) has gradually gained more and more acclaim and is today one of the top notch Neethlingshof reds.
With its long, loose, medium-sized bunches of small, oval berries, ripening at about mid-season, the quality of Shiraz depends to a large degree upon where it is grown. Neethlingshof’s terroir, as has been established, is perfectly suitable for this variety. Grown on the slopes of the Bottelary Hills where the cool air from False Bay fans the vineyards during the warmest part of the day, the grapes which are brought to the cellar yield an outstanding, rich, deep-coloured Neethlingshof Shiraz with a fruity character and a typical smoky, scented bouquet that sets it apart.
in the cellar : Using a pure yeast culture, the mash was fermented, after destalking and crushing, in rotation tanks at 27°C. Fermentation took seven days s to complete whereafter the skins were pressed. After malolactic fermentation the wine was left on the lees for a month before being matured in a combination of French (85%) and American (15%) oak for 14 months.