Colour: Intense, rich ruby/garnet with an extremely attractive sparkle.
Bouquet: Rich and complex with undertones of toasted coffee beans and dark chocolate combined with the spicy sweetness of ripe plums and roasted almonds.
Taste: Full-bodied and succulent, this wine is perfectly balanced with flavours of ripe red-fruit and nuances of black pepper and oak spices.
Incredibly versatile with food, possibly the best combinations are with roasted game dishes as well as with some harder cheeses after a few years of maturation.
variety : Shiraz [ 56% Shiraz, 44% Pinotage ]
winemaker : Guy Webber with Samantha de Morney-Hughes
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.57 % vol rs : 2.60 g/l pH : 3.48 ta : 6.18 g/l va : 0.57 g/l so2 : 30 mg/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
Stellenzicht, founded in 1692, is almost as old as the town of Stellenbosch itself. The farm lies in the heart of the prized Golden Triangle, so named for the outstanding wines from this premier winegrowing area. It lies midway between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountains and is cooled by breezes off nearby False Bay. Just as nature provides a balance between sunshine and tempering maritime breezes, so are the wines styled to balance passion with restraint and might with elegance. Each wine exhibits an enduring classical integrity laced with modern generosity of flavour.
Winemaker, Guy Webber, has combined his expertise with Shiraz and his love of Pinotage to produce Rhapsody, which melds the outstanding characteristics of both these varietals to create a new wine that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Vineyards (Viticulturists: Johan Mong and Prof. Eben Archer)
Grapes were sourced from vineyards in the Stellenbosch area growing at an altitude of 150 m to 300 m on west- and north-west facing slopes in soils of decomposed granite and Table Mountain sandstone. Ranging in age from 12 to 18 years, the vines, grafted onto nematode-resistant rootstocks, are pruned and trained to balance growth and yield for absolute quality. The vines, which received only a single supplementary irrigation after véraison, yielded a lighter crop than usual.
in the cellar : The two varietals vinified separately. After destalking and crushing, the mash was fermented in stainless steel tanks at around 28° C using pure yeast cultures (NT50 and Merit-Ferm). The juice was separated from the skins after three to five days. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was matured for 22 months in a combination of new French (67%), American (11%) and Hungarian (22%) 300-litre barrels.
Due to the structure and intensity of the wine, no fining was required before final filtration. Bottling of the 3 133 750 ml bottles took place on 26 February 2009.