Colour: Dark, rich plummy colour.
Bouquet: Complex combination of white pepper, cigar box, mint and a concentration of dark fruit supported by subtle spicy undertones.
Palate: The complexity on the nose flows over to the palate. The wine is big and round on entry with smooth and silky tannins that show well even though the wine is still young. Nice fruit on the back palate combined with a well-balanced acidity is responsible for a lingering finish and rounds off a perfectly balanced wine.
Kudu fillet with couscous and a red wine reduction.
variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Gerhard Swart
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 14.5 % vol rs : 2.9 g/l pH : 3.43 ta : 5.0 g/l
type : Red wooded
pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Shiraz grows like it wants to fly away. And the cautious farmer will mutter that nothing good will come from such a wild thing. But find the soil and climate to balance this effervescent nature, and you have the chance of making something beautiful. The Dark Horse is our touchstone, our mantra, our moving target, our other name, our dreams reflected.
Grapes were handpicked from mid February until mid March at between 25-26 °B, then stored in our cold room overnight after which all small parts of stems were removed by hand on a sorting table. Cold maceration on the skins for 4-5 days at 6-10°C. Fermentation took place in open top stainless steel fermenters at 25-30°C with punch downs every 4 hours. Wine was matured for 14 months in 2/3 new American Oak barrels and the rest in older French and American. Every barrel gets tasted individually a minimum of three times during the maturation period in order to select the premium ones for this wine.
in the cellar : Grapes were stored in our cold room overnight after which all small parts of stems were removed by hand on a sorting table. Cold maceration on the skins for 4-5 days at 6-10°C. Fermentation took place in open top stainless steel fermenters at 25-30°C with punch downs every 4 hours. Wine was matured for 14 months in 2/3 new American oak barrels and the rest in older French and American. Every barrel gets tasted individually a minimum of three times during the maturation period in order to select the premium ones for this wine.