Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2015

ageing : pThe wine can be enjoyed now, but will mature for the next 5 years./p

The blend consist of 80% Shiraz from Stellenbosch and Paarl, 15 % Mourvédre from Darling and 5% Viognier from Falsebay Stellenbosch. 2015 was a great vintage with a wet winter ensuring that the vineyards were able to reach full maturity without the need for any supplementary irrigation. The vineyard canopies were opened during December (leaf removal) to allow sufficient light and air movement in the bunch zone.

Each of the varietals were harvested and vinified separately. This so that each parcel could be picked at the correct time to contribute the desired characteristics to the final blend.

The vineyards produced an average of 10 tons/ha.

For the red component the grapes were transferred to tank for fermentation after destemming but no crushing. i.e. whole-berry. Wanting to preserve the freshness and elegance of this typical Rhone style blend the grapes were gently handled during fermentation and were only pumped-over twice a day. After pressing the wine underwent malolactic fermentation in tank before being transferred, for maturation, to a combination of older oak barrels for 14 months. The Viognier component was pressed and cold fermented in tank. The wine was left to mature in tank on the yeast lees until being racked for blending with the other components.