Fairview Enzaamheid Shiraz 2013

Deep red colour with aromas of blueberries, violets and cinnamon spice with hints of oak. Complex flavours of black pepper and dark fruit with a well balanced palate, integrated tannins and good length. Potential to age in the bottle for another 5 – 10 years..

variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]

winery : Fairview Wines

winemaker : Anthony de Jager

wine of origin : Paarl

analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 3.7 g/l pH : 3.58 ta : 5.4 g/l

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

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

ageing : This wine will develop over the next decade or longer.

In 1699 a certain Mr. Dippenauw was granted an enormous farm by his employer, the Dutch East India Company. It is uncertain whether this was a reward for his industry or whether the bosses cast him into the wilderness because he’d married dangerously (a sister of Adam Tas, diarist of the early colonial Cape and political rebel imprisoned by Governer Willem Adriaan van der Stel). What is known is that the newlywed couple was so overwhelmed by the farm’s isolation from Cape Town that they named it “Eenzaamheid”, a Dutch word meaning solitude. Today Eenzaamheid is owned by Christo Briers-Louw, whose family has owned the land since 1775. Christo is a dedicated farmer with an intimate knowledge of the soils of Paarl. The gravelly, decomposed shale soils on the farm allow Shiraz to ripen without irrigation, producing wines of great expression and concentration.

in the vineyard : The vineyard was planted in 1996, with two Shiraz clones (SH1 and SH21) grafted onto Richter 99 rootstock. The soil type is Swartland shale - a deep, uniform decomposed soil with excellent water retention. This allows these unirrigated vines to easily ripen the crop without stressing during our hot, dry summers. Strict winter pruning and summer canopy management ensure a well-balanced crop that reaches good phenolic ripeness. A final crop thinning at veraison also ensures an even ripeness. The vineyard is regularly visited during the ripening period and tested by taste, sight and analysis to determine the optimum picking date.

about the harvest: Harvest date: 23 February 2012
The grapes were handpicked at 24° balling.

in the cellar : The fruit was brought to the cellar in small lug boxes, destalked and hand sorted over a sorting table. All raisins, under ripe berries and stalks were removed. The sorted berries were sent straight to open French oak fermenters (foudres). Manual punch downs (pigeage) were performed three times daily. Post fermentation maceration lasted for two days. Wine was basket pressed, and malolactic fermentation was completed in 30% new French barrels, with the remainder maturing in second and third fill barrels to respect the integrity of the wine. Barrel aging lasted 20 months.

email the winery

email this page

find our wines in :