Colour: Deep, dark ruby with pink hues and a bright brim.
Bouquet: Blackcurrant, white pepper and spices backed by lively mocha, vanilla and oak aromas.
Taste: The nose carries through onto the palate with fruit and oak contributing to a well-rounded, velvety feel with the backbone of ripe tannins ending in a long, peppery finish.
A perfect partner for robustly flavoured dishes such as lamb shank, stuffed lamb shoulder and pork with crackling. This lively, yet serious wine is also an excellent partner for venison.
variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Estelle Lourens
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 15.01 % vol rs : 2.8 g/l pH : 3.51 ta : 6.4 g/l
type : Red wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
The farm Uitkyk, situated on the south-western slopes of the Simonsberg, was established in 1712. The estate’s neo-classical manor house, completed in 1788, is thought to be the work of the French architect Louis Michel Thibault, who was active at the Cape at the end of the 18th century.
The Vineyards
Uitkyk Estate is 600ha in size with 140ha under vines. An interesting variety of cultivars are planted on the estate: Chardonnay, Sémillon, Chenin blanc, Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Pinotage, Sangiovese, Mourvédre, Petit Verdot and Pinot noir. All the vineyards are planted in deep red, decomposed granite soil. During the 2007 vintage, 790 tons were harvested at the cellar.
The Shiraz for this wine was made from the grapes of two vineyards on Uitkyk; one a 12 year old block planted in 1995 and the other a young vineyard in its second year of production.
Both these vineyards are cultivated on the estate in deep, red, decomposed granite soil and face north to north-west at 280-330m above sea level. The vines are grafted on nematode-resistant rootstocks (R110) and pruned to optimise yield and quality. The older block had a yield of 8 tons per ha and the younger block 6 tons per ha. Both vineyards received supplementary irrigation in January 2007.
Viticulturist: Dr Eben Archer
in the cellar : Fermentation took place in an open fermenter at 26° - 28° C until dry. Pure yeast culture (NT116 and RG-12) was used and the fermentation finished in 8 days. After pressing, the wine was transferred to barrel allowing malolactic fermentation to finish; thereafter it was racked twice during the maturation period of 20 months. A combination of French (40%), American (27%) and Hungarian (33%) oak barrels was used, 93% of which was new and 7% second-fill barrels. Bottling took place in February 2009.