Lourensford Estate Shiraz 2013

The wine has a deep, dark red colour. Aromas of plums and red berry fruitcake greet you on the nose along with hints of nutmeg. The palate is dense, very well rounded and supported with a smooth, velvety tannin structure along with flavours of mulberry, blackberry fruit and vanilla. The soft, complex palate will awaken your taste buds and undertones of chocolate and tobacco leaf will linger for a while and slowly fade away, leaving your palate satisfied.

Slow cooked casseroles, herb-roasted or spiced meat and vegetable dishes, robust and ethnic dishes from all over the world served with savoury sauces with a little dark chocolate and flavoured with a dash of chili will all go very well with this wine. It will also pair well with game dishes It will love grilled or barbecued foods as it latches on to the pronounced ‘browning’ flavours that develop with these cooking methods and also pairs well with a rack of braaied spareribs with a sweet or spicy basting sauce. Our Shiraz also works with sweeter sauces, cranberry jellies and relishes that accompany many savoury dishes. It also loves everyday dishes such as cottage pie, bangers and mash, beef cooked in red wine, mushrooms on toast, and a mild, rare pan-fried steak

variety : Shiraz [ 88% Shiraz,12% Merlot ]
winemaker : Hannes Nel
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14 % vol  rs : 2.5 g/l  pH : 3.52  ta : 5.8 g/l  
type : Red  style : Dry  body : Medium  taste : Fruity   wooded
pack : Bottle  size : 0  closure : Screwcap  

ageing : This vintage can be enjoyed up to 2017, but will reach its best drinking potential towards the end of 2015 and with optimum cellaring will peak only towards the end of 2016.

in the vineyard : Origin: Stellenbosch
Altitude: 200 - 400m above sea level
Age of vines: 6-13 years
Rootstock: 101-14 Mgt
Clones: SH22, SH5, SH09
Slopes: Western facing slopes
Row direction: North-South
Soil: Decomposed granite, Oakleaf and Tukulu formations

about the harvest: A cool and wet winter allowed vines to go into proper dormancy. We experienced severe winds at the end of November and extreme heat wave conditions at the end of December. Luckily this did not affect the sensitive flowering and ripening stages too much. We experienced a cool summer with the highest rainfall for February in many years. This resulted in slower ripening and the ability to harvest at lower sugar levels. This in turn resulted in refined wines with elegance and good natural acidity. The fruit were picked by hand early in the morning to protect the very delicate flavours and placed into 5 ton fermenters with regular, manual punch downs before the grapes were pressed and transferred to barrels for malo-lactic fermentation and ageing. The harvest dates were March – April 2013

in the cellar : Wood: 14 months in 300L French oak barrels of which 13% was new.

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