Saronsberg Full Circle 2004

The wine has a deep, brooding colour complemented by dark, ripe fruit flavours with delicate floral and spice undertones. The soft, full-bodied and elegant mouthfeel is backed by integrated oak.

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variety : Shiraz [ 81% Shiraz,14% Mourvedre, 5% Viognier ]

winery : Saronsberg Cellar

winemaker : Dewaldt Heyns

wine of origin : Breede River

analysis : alc : 14.92 % vol rs : 3 g/l pH : 3.52 ta : 6.10 g/l va : 0.47 g/l so2 : 81 mg/l fso2 : 44 mg/l

type : Red wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

ageing : This wine should start to peak by 2009 and can be enjoyed with a variety of dishes or on its own.

in the vineyard : Cultivar: Shiraz 81%, MourvÃ¨dre 14% and Viognier 5%
Clones: SH 1, SH22; MT11; VR642
Rootstock: R99
Age: 7 years
Soil: Sandy alluvial and structured red soils.

about the harvest: Hand-picked in the early morning.
Harvest dates: Shiraz: 13, 15 and 25 February 2004; Mourvedre: 19 February 2004; Viognier 4 February 2004
Yield: 3 - 7 ton/ha
Balling at harvest: 25Â° - 26.5Â° B
pH at harvest: 3.5 - 3.7
Total acid at harvest: 5.9 - 6.3 g/l

in the cellar : Force cooled to 4 Â°C, bunch sorted, destemmed, berry sorted and gently crushed into a satellite tank. Then deposited into open and closed fermenters. The must was dejuiced by 8 - 15% depending on the vineyard. It was given a cold soak for 3 to 4 days at 9 Â°C with a CO2 blanket, then heated to 18 Â°C and inoculated with NT116, BM45 and L2056 yeasts.

Fermentation temperature was allowed to peak at 29 Â°C and then brought down to 24 Â°C. The fermenting grapes were punched down once daily during cold soak, four times daily during fermentation and once daily post fermentation. About 45% was pressed at 5 Â°B and finished fermentation in barrels. The rest was given extended maceration after fermentation. Total time on the skins varies from 7 to 14 days.

The wine was then pressed into new 300 litre French Allier barrels. The press fraction was separated if necessary. Malolactic bacteria were inoculated and malolactic fermentation was completed in the barrels. The wines were then given a low sulphur dose and left on the gross lees for 10 months. The wines were racked, blended and returned to barrels. After a total of 16 months in first-fill barrels the wine was racked, given a light egg white fining and filtered through a coarse sheet filter. Bottling was done with a light sheet filtration. The wine will now be bottle matured for 12 months prior to release.

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