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Ernie Els Proprietor's Syrah 2012

The 2012 Proprietor’s Syrah immediately leaps from the glass with layers of mocha, cinnamon and dense spicy fruit. The palate shows a contrast of dried sage over maraschino cherry in an exotic, graphite-like body. Rich, glossy black and blueberry fruits stain the glass, offering powerful depth against the backdrop of mouth-coating, succulent tannins. The finish is bold and lingers for minutes with primary red fruits and a hint of fine espresso foam. Impressive now, expect 3-5 years to add more complexity and fine balance.

variety : Shiraz [ 95% Shiraz, 5% Viognier ]

winery : Ernie Els Wines

winemaker : Louis Strydom

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 14.81 % vol rs : 4.9 g/l pH : 3.75 ta : 6.0 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

AWARDS

2014 International Wine and Spirit Competition - Silver Outstanding

ageing : Impressive now, expect 3 - 5 years to add more complexity and fine balance.

in the vineyard : The 2012 Vintage
The 2012 harvest is emerging as a particularly good one, both in terms of quality and volume. Although it’s still early days, we do foresee that this vintage has the potential to be of a very high standard. After fairly stable climatic conditions throughout the second semester of 2011, a cold and wet spring slowed down activity in the vineyards. We experienced warm weather in late December which led to some vigorous foliage growth. The bunch counts revealed an above average figure so “green harvesting” was needed in January. (Green harvesting is the removal of immature grape bunches for the purpose of decreasing yield and thus maintaining intensity on the remaining fruit.) It’s particularly pleasing to report that there was no apparent disease in the vineyards. Moderate to warm temperatures from the second half of February were prevalent as expected, but cool conditions throughout March slowed the ripening of the vines and assisted in improving phenolic ripeness of the grapes. There were some early rains during April but luckily 95% of the crop had already been harvested by this stage. In general, there is much excitement about the 2012 vintage, a specific characteristic being optimal ripeness levels achieved at lower sugars, thus in-turn resulting in lower alcohol levels.

About the vineyard
The Syrah vineyards grow on the warm north-facing slopes of the Helderberg region within the Stellenbosch appellation. The Hutton Clovelly soils contain a high gravel content which offers rich middle palate weight giving this wine exceptional depth and fruit purity. The Viognier was sourced from neighbouring Helderberg vineyards and was co-fermented during harvest. With an altitude of approximately 250 metres above sea level together with the cooling influence of the Atlantic Ocean just 15 kilometres away, this extends the ripening period by up to 3 weeks resulting in lovely phenolic ripeness.

about the harvest: The grapes were hand-picked in the cool of early morning. On the sorting table, all excess stalks and inferior berries were carefully removed.
Dates: March & April, 2012. 25.5° Brix average sugar at harvest

in the cellar : Grape bunches were gently destalked with a Bucher de-stalker and lightly crushed. On the sorting table, all excess stalks and rotten berries were removed carefully by hand. Fermentation took place in 7-ton, open-top stainless steel tanks with yeast WE 372 being added to the juice. The wines were pumped-over and punched-down manually 5 times per day ensuring maximum colour extraction from the skins. After primary fermentation the maceration period was 10 - 16 days before pressing. Each variety is maturated separately (micro-vinified) in oak barrels before blending and eventual bottling.

Cooperage: Aged for 17 months – 70% in 300 litre French Oak barrels & 30% in 300 litre American Oak Barrels
Production: 1 133 x 6 x 750ml cases
Sustainability Initiative: I.P.W. (Integrated Production of Wine) Certified

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