KWV The Mentors Shiraz 2012

This expressive Shiraz displays cherry, cranberry and tobacco leaf aromas with subtle hints of black pepper. On the palate there are nuances of liquorice with juicy, fleshy tannins that deliver a spicy and savoury finish. Well structured adn integrated, the wine has excellent ageing potential.

Serve this wine with roast lamb, char-grilled beef fillet, wild game dishes or any other richly flavoured meat dishes, or enjoy on its own.

variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]

winery : The Mentors

winemaker : The Winemaking Team

wine of origin : Paarl

analysis : alc : 14.52 % vol rs : 3.05 g/l pH : 3.53 ta : 6.18 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Medium taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

AWARDS

Veritas Wine Awards 2013 - Gold
International Wine and Spirits Competition 2013 - Silver
Decanter World Wine Awards 2013 - Gold

ageing : The wine can be savoured now, or cellared for up to eight years.

A single vineyard, 600 metres above sea level in the Paarl region, provided grapes for this wine. Altitude, complex deep granite soils and low yield all contributed to producing a wine that heralds a new chapter for South African Shiraz on the global wine scene. Rich, concentrated and powerful, this wine is fresh, lively and juicy with extraordinary structure and finesse on the palate.

in the vineyard : Vineyards
Paarl

Vintage Conditions
The winter preceding the 2012 vintage was characterized by far lower than average rainfall. This trend continued into the summer, resulting in vineyards showing signs of lower soil moisture by way of the reduced berry size and bunch weight. A cooler ripening season with even temperatures let to steady and measured ripening of the grapes. Overall, the smaller berry size and lower yields promise great concentration, good quality and intense colour in the 2012 vintage wines.

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested optimally ripe.

Yield: 5.t/ha

in the cellar :

After harvesting the grapes were sorted in the cellar to ensure that only the best fruit is used for fermentation. 25% of the blend was fermented as whole berries. The wine fermented naturally and alcoholic fermentation lasted approximately 6 days. During that time it was pumped over every 4 hours, to ensure perfect colour, flavor and tannin extraction. Wine was pressed off the skins before alcoholic fermentation was completed to prevent the extraction of hard and dry tannins. Malolactic fermentation lasted 3 weeks in barrel; where after the wine was racked and placed back into barrel for maturation. The wine was racked twice during its 18 months in
barrel. After maturation the wine was stabilized and bottled.

Maturation
The wine was matured for 18 months in oak barrels - 85% of French origin and 15% American. A combination of 300L and 500L barrels was used. A 70% portion of the barrels was first-fill.

Total Production: 8 450L
Bottling Date: December 2013

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