variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Anthony de Jager
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 14.5 % vol rs : 4.6 g/l pH : 3.38 ta : 5.6 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Eenzaamheid is ownded by Christo Briers-Louw, whose family has owned this land since 1775. Christo is a dedicated farmer, who has an intimate knowledge of the soils of Paarl. The gravely, decomposed shale soils of Paarl allow Shiraz to ripen without irrigation, producing wines of great expression and concentration.
This wine was previously known at Solitude Shiraz.
In 1699 a certain Mr Dippenauw was granted an enormous farm by his employer, the Dutch East India Company. It is uncertain whether this was a reward for his industry or whether the bosses cast him into the wilderness because he’d married dangerously - a sister of Adam Tas, diarist of the early colonial Cape and political rebel (Tas was imprisoned by Governer Willem Adriaan van der Stel). What is known is that the newly-wed couple were so overwhelmed by the farm’s isolation from Cape Town that they named it 'Eenzaamheid', a Dutch word meaning solitude. Today Eenzaamheid is owned by Christo Briers-Louw, whose family has owned the land since 1775. Christo is a dedicated farmer, who has an intimate knowledge of the soils of Paarl. These gravelly, decomposed shale soils allow Shiraz to ripen without irrigation, producing wines of great expression and concentration.
To Life! Charles Back
This vineyard was planted in 1996, with two Shiraz clones (SH1 and SH21) grafted onto Richter 99 rootstock. The soil type is Swartland shale, a deep uniform decomposed soil with excellent water retention. This allows these unirrigated vines to easily ripen the crop without stressing during our hot, dry summers. Strict winter pruning and summer canopy management ensure a well balanced crop that reaches good phenolic ripeness. A final crop thinning at 80% vêraison also ensures an even ripeness. The vineyard is regularly visited during the ripening period and tested by taste, visual and analytical examination to determine exact picking date.
Winemaker's Comments
"The conditions in 2009 were exceptional for the industry as a whole and the Eenzaamheid was definitely not an exception. This wine is only bottled in the best vintages and it was well worth the wait. The two previous vintages were not bottled. The cool climate and near-perfect conditions in 2009 yielded a well-rounded wine, with soft tannin, good fruit and expressive spice." Anthony de Jager
about the harvest: Harvest date: 11th February 2006
The grapes were machine harvested full ripe at 25.9° B. Mechanised harvesting was possible due to the uniform nature of the fruit on the vines, following meticulous vineyard management.
in the cellar : The fruit was rigorously hand-sorted to remove unwanted berries. The berries were transferred to 600 litre open-ended French oak barrels. Selected Rhône yeasts were used for fermentation and manual punch-downs were performed three times a day. Post fermentation maceration lasted for eight days. The grapes were basket pressed and the wine was sent to 225 litre French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and further ageing. 45% new barrels were used and the remainder was matured in 2nd and 3rd fill barriques. Barrel aging lasted 21 months and the wine was bottled in the first week of December 2010. Total production for the 2009 vintage was sixteen barrels.