Rudera Syrah 2006

• The Rudera Syrah 2001 scored Gold at Veritas 2002; Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, Issue 145 reviewed the 2001 as 88/100; and John Platter South African Wines Guide 2003, awarded the 2001 vintage ****.
• The 2002 vintage scored 89/100 in The Wine Spectator of June 30, 2005; and **** in John Platter South African Wines Guide 2005 .
• The 2003 vintage scored 88/100 in The Wine Spectator February 2006 under 'New Releases'; and the 2003 vintage scored **** stars in John Platter South African Wines Guide 2005.
• John Platter South African Wines Guide 2007 rated the 2004 vintage **** stars; and The Wine Spectator scored the Rudera Syrah 2004 as 89/100 in January 2007.
• John Platter South African Wines Guide 2009 rated the 2005 vintage **** stars.
• The Platter's South African Wines Guide 2010 rated the Syrah 2006 vintage ****(*) stars.

ageing : 

Drinking exceptionally well now and will reward two to six years in bottle.

Grapes were sourced from two different vineyards; one on Koffieklip in Koelenhof (planted in 1994), and the second a vineyard on shale, in Faure (planted in 1997), all in the Stellenbosch appellation. All these vineyards are trellised on a four-wire perold system. Drip irrigation is available to combine canopy management with stress management.

Handpicked grapes were brought in late in February at 24,6° B . The pH was 3.2 with a titratable acid of 7,4 g/l.

Sorting was done in the vineyard, followed by bunch selection in the cellar before crush. Total production was 6,4 tons per hectare (43hl/ha).