Mont Rochelle Syrah 2009

ageing : With bottle ageing in our Bottle Maturation Cellar, the wine is now ready for drinking but will most definitely reward careful cellaring for at least 10 years from vintage.

This wine is called Syrah, because of the ‘old-world’ style of winemaking utilised. It is far more traditional than our “New World” location would suggest with spice, herbs, pepper and black fruit dominating in the wines profile. The Shiraz vineyards on Mont Rochelle range from 240m above sea level to 360m above sea level with an incredibly steep gradient ensuring that we have a diverse flavour profile from the fruit produced. This translates into a Syrah wine with abundant layers of fruit flavours and complexity.

The 2008 growing season, leading into 2009 was very cold and wet. The late September rains enabled accumulation of good moisture reserves in the soil. Late spring and early summer were essentially cool months, causing vigorous growth, which slowed down ripening and enhanced flavour accumulation. The cooler ripening season caused the harvest to start two weeks later than usual. Late February and early March temperature spikes had the cellar going into overdrive. The picking season was more than a month shorter than usual, but fruit quality was superb!

Vine age: 6 years
Vines per Ha: 3,500
Altitude: 240 - 360 m

Harvested: 27th February and 5th March
Harvest Method: Hand

Malolactic: 100%
Fermentation: Stainless Steel
Bottled: 28h November 2011
Barrels: 21 months in 225 litre French oak 30% New
Production: 6,300 bottles