This full-bodied wine shows freshly crushed black pepper aromas with hints of cinnamon and cloves on the nose with lots of brambly red berry fruit, rich mulberry and well integrated vanilla tones.
Enjoy now with roast beef, stews, lamb, venison, pasta and steak.
Serving temperature: 12º - 14ºC
variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Lolly Louwrens
wine of origin : Breede River
analysis : alc : 13.87 % vol rs : 3.3 g/l pH : 3.48 ta : 5.46 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Shiraz is by nature a vigorous grower, so a 6-wire Perold system is used to manage the canopy. Our Shiraz is planted in deep Karoo and shale soils that are rich in lime. An average of 7 - 12 tons of fruit was harvested per hectare during the fourth week of February from 35 specially chosen grape growers in the Robertson Valley. This rich lime content ensures a healthy growing medium. Bunch size is kept below 120 grams per bunch to ensure concentration of fruit.
Vintage
The 2007 vintage will be remembered as one of the best till date. The run-up to this harvest was almost perfect, starting with a cold, wet winter (first one in many years), moderate spring, with no significant winds hampering growth. The weather during harvest also was perfect with more or less no rain. The only little blemish in this year's growing season was the heat wave during the end of January. Although high temperatures were recorded, the intensity of this heat wave was less severe in Robertson than in other South African winegrowing areas. The availability of irrigation also helped to buffer the vineyards against such a heat wave and the net result was that the vineyards coped with the heat wave conditions better than was expected.
The above mentioned were conducive to good growth, effective canopies and excellent quality. The little bigger 2007 crop was due to new vineyards coming into bearing, older vineyards cropping a bit more and especially because no crop losses occurred due to disease or rot.
With a season like this one, we can look forward to excellent 2007 wines - both red and white.
about the harvest: Grapes were harvested at full ripeness between 24,5° - 26,5° Balling from a selection of vineyards with average age of vines between 7 and 9 years.