An elegant rich blend with sumptuous blackberry fruits shielding the Shiraz spice. Juicy with intense ripe plum fruit and well-balanced wood integration all around.
Enjoy this wine now with roast beef, guinea fowl, roast chicken, stews, lamb, venison, pasta and steak. Serving temperature: 12° - 14°C.
variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Lolly Louwrens
wine of origin : Robertson
analysis : alc : 13.05 % vol rs : 4.2 g/l pH : 3.5 ta : 5.07 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : The Shiraz fruit was harvested in the third and the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit in the last week of February from rich limestone soils in the Robertson Valley. An average of 8 tons of Shiraz and 10 tons of Cabernet were harvested per hecare. An annual rainfall of only 280 mm per year is supplemeted with controlled drip irrigation from the Breede River.
Vintage
Incredible healthy grapes of excellent quality to produce outstanding wines - this is how the 2006 vintage will be remembered. As in 2005, the season started with very little winter rainfall in Robertson, but this time around, enough rain fell in the Brandvleidam catchment area to ensure sufficient water supply.
Early and even budbreak occurred and due to lots of wind and a cooler growing season only moderate vineyard vigour was achieved. The prevailing strong wind induced stress on the grapevines which had a positive effect on wine quality, as it led to smaller, looser bunches with fewer, smaller and more concentrated berries. The 2006 crop was a little bigger than in 2005, but is till smaller than an average crop. This is mainly due to the smaller, looser bunches with smaller berries.
Optimum ripeness was reached at lower sugar levels due to the cooler ripening period. Especially the night temperatures were lower than normal. This, coupled with the smaller berries, ensured excellent red wine quality.
2006 will be a vintage to be remembered.
about the harvest: Both Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were harvested at full ripeness between 24,5° - 26,5°B from a selection of vineyards.
in the cellar : Cold soaking on the Cabernet Sauvignon happened for two days prior to fermentation to ensure optimum colour and flavour extraction. Fermentation happened in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The Cabernet Sauvignon was matured on French Oak for 8 months and 30% of the Shiraz was matured on American Oak for 8 months prior to blending.