Lammershoek Roulette 2006

Name: Lammershoek Roulette 2006
Brand: Lammershoek
SKU: 19636

2006 has the same lovely expressive nose as 2005. A critic recently described the wine as having "a great sniff-all-day-edness to it". Warm, fragrant spice hits first with bright red fruit and a touch of "fynbos" herbaceousness just after. The wine has a wonderful freshness on the palate followed by red mouth-filling fruit and a fine tannin structure. The finish is spicy and peppery. It is more elegant than the previous vintages with good minerality.

variety : Shiraz [ 62% Shiraz, 20% Carignan, 139% Grenache, 4% Mourvedre, 1% Viognier ]

winery : Lammershoek Farms & Winery

winemaker : Albert Ahrens

wine of origin : Swartland

analysis : alc : 14.5 % vol rs : 1.5 g/l pH : 3.53 ta : 5.4 g/l

type : Red style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

AWARDS

AWC Vienna 2009 - Silver Medal
JancisRobinson.com 17.5/20 points (tasted by Julia Harding MW)
2009 Decanter World Wine Awards - Commended
August 2010 Wine Spectator - 90 points
John Platter 4 stars 2010

ageing : The wine is drinking well after a year and a half in bottle but should improve over the next 2 - 3 years. Drink until 2015.

in the vineyard : The vineyards are situated on poor, deep soils made up mainly of weathered granite. The average yield is 35hl/ha. Judicious pruning, suckering and green-harvesting ensure an optimal yield with properly ripe phenols and sugars. Small, concentrated berries result in balanced, fruit-driven wines.

The vineyards are currently being converted to sustainable and organic farming with a focus on getting soil and vine in balance. No chemical fertilizer has been applied in 5 years with organic composting preferred. Spray cycles are also kept to an absolute minimum.

about the harvest: Winter 2005 was the last in a series of very dry winters. The low rainfall led to smaller canopies and yields. The berries were small and concentrated leading to rich wines.

in the cellar : The grapes are cooled to 2°C before being hand sorted and crushed into open top concrete fermenters. Cold maceration follows for up to 72 hours before the temperature is increased and fermentation is allowed to commence. Gentle, manual punch downs keep the skins in contact with the juice.

The Carignan and Grenache are co-fermented and some Viognier skins are added to a tank of fermenting Syrah (the Viognier juice is used in the Roulette Blanc), whilst the Mourvedre is kept separate. An extended period of maceration occurs following fermentation.

Once fermentation is completed, the wine is pressed into concrete tanks for malolactic fermentation. Maturation occurs in French oak barrels - 20% of which are new and roughly 30% 500 litre - for 12 months. During this time the component parts are kept separate. The wine is blended a few weeks prior to bottling but is not fined or filtered.

email the winery

email this page

find our wines in :